Gov’t think tank wants casino gamblers to pay higher fees
STATE-RUN think tank National Tax Research Center (NTRC) wants to raise the qualifying fee collected from casino gamblers to raise additional revenue for the government, according to its latest research journal.
It proposes to raise the P100 qualifying fee for casino gambling to P500, or even P1,500.
The NTRC said that the fee hike will factor in the effect of inflation as the fees were set in 1993, while also deterring lowincome persons from gambling in casinos.
“The government may take advantage of the country’s vibrant gaming industry to help raise needed revenue to finance its development projects such as its Build Build Build program as the country gears towards achieving the ‘Golden Age of Infrastructure,’” the NTRC said.
“Notwithstanding its contribution to the country’s economic growth and potential to generate government revenue, gambling also has its attendant social costs which must be managed carefully. The collection of a higher qualifying fee in all casinos could be a practical way to discourage those who do not have enough money to spend in casinos,” it added.
The think tank said that a P500 qualifying fee is estimated to generate an additional P1.39 billion annually.
Executive Order No. 48 signed by President Fidel V. Ramos in 1993 authorizes the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. ( Pagcor) to collect an optional qualifying fee from casino gamblers.
Casinos that have opted to waive the fee include Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino Mactan as well as those located in Entertainment City, e.g. City of Dreams, Okada Manila, and Resorts World Manila, among others, the NTRC noted.
Pagcor was able to raise P14.44 million in from the fees in 2016, up 36.48%.
House Bills 5871 and 2061 filed during the 17th Congress sought to impose fees as high as P3,000 and P3,500, which the NTRC considers “too high.”
“The rates proposed by the bills may also be an option but said amounts may already be considered too high by casino players,” the NTRC said.
Countries imposing a qualifying fee include Singapore at the equivalent of P3,743 while Vietnam charges about P2,200 and India about P796.
The gaming industry reported P128.44 billion in gross gaming revenue ( GGR) in 2016, up 19.26%. Some 80% of the GGR total was generated by 10 licensed casinos. —