Manila casino resorts have resumed their limited gambling operations, according to the chief gaming operator in the Philippines.
As per the confirmation provided by the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), all four casino resorts situated in the capital city are once again back into business but in a limited capacity.
Solaire, City of Dreams, Okada, and Resorts World, have reopened this month as per the government’s staycation program. The General Community Quarantine remains in Metro Manila, the casinos and resorts are allowed to open again. The restaurants available on the resorts can function with 25% operating capacity indoor and 50% percent outdoor.
Due to Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s orders in late March, all casino services were suspended in the state. The decision to shut down was taken due to the extreme surge of Covid-19 cases.
Now Manila casinos are permitted to reopen their slot machines and table games for guests as part of the government staycation policy.
Restriction on Manila Casinos
The four casinos that are allowed to reopen have strict government orders to limit the operation heads in their property.
Solaire claims that they are only accommodating guests who are staying overnight in the resort. Okada, on the other hand, is only welcoming avid gambling and reward members in the casinos.
The City of Dreams claims that they have limited the number of players in their table games, and they follow strict social distancing norms while customers are playing on slot machines.
There is no such comment from the government, PAGCOR, or the resort on the matter of total or medium capacity operations. Hence, it is not clear when the general public will be able to visit casinos.
PAGCOR did give the four casinos and resorts the benefit during the coronavirus pandemic by allowing online gambling. The four casinos have permission to provide online gambling services to their customers. But only the VIP members of casinos can gamble online.
In the first quarter of the current financial year, the four Manila Casinos earned a gross gaming revenue of PHP 21.1 billion ($442 million). The gross gaming revenue was calculated considering the money earned from the land-based casinos as well as online casinos from their high rollers.
