Gaming stocks surge as Rody backtracks on online gambling
Gaming stocks have surged on renewed optimism in the sector after President Duterte backtracked on his policy and said he might allow online gaming to resume under certain conditions.
As this developed, PhilWeb Corp., the embattled gaming technology company, has requested a meeting with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) for clarification of the government’s stance on online gaming following Duterte’s pronouncements.
“The schedule is being set,” PhilWeb president Dennis Valdes said yesterday.
In the meantime, stock market investors continued to cheer Duterte’s latest position on online gaming, which was a stark contrast to his earlier vow to end this.
After Duterte announced his new stance on Wednesday night, shares of PhilWeb jumped by 50 percent to P8.10 per share Thursday. They continued to climb yesterday, hitting a high of P11.40 before closing at P9.48 per share or an increase of 17.04 percent.
Pagcor chief executive officer Andrea Domingo said her agency would have to clarify the administration’s policy after Duterte’s latest pronouncements.
E- bingo operator Lei- sure & Resorts World Corp. also closed higher by 49.86 percent to P5.17 per share on Thursday but investors cashed in on gains yesterday. Shares closed at 4.92 or a decline of 4.84 percent.
PhilWeb’s license expired on Aug. 10 and Pagcor refused to renew it following the President’s pronouncement that he was against online gaming.
In his denunciation of oligarchs, Duterte singled out businessman and former finance minister Roberto Ongpin, who headed PhilWeb until he offered to donate 49 percent of his 53.76 percent share to Pagcor in hopes of having the firm’s license renewed. Pagcor declined the offer.
But Duterte said he might reconsider his position and allow e- game firms to resume operations as long as they would pay the right taxes that his administration could keep as trust fund for social services.
The President said the e-games cafes must also be situated in places or districts where gambling was allowed, meaning not within a certain distance from church and school.
Gaming shares have plummeted since the end of June, after Duterte ordered a stop to online gaming.
The first company to experience the crackdown was PhilWeb but Pagcor said it would also stop issuing new permits or renew the licenses for both electronic bingo and games.
PhilWeb submitted on Wednesday a new business plan to Pagcor, proposing a mobile-phone based lottery business seen as a supplement to the lotto business of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
It is behind e-games stations, which are Internet cafes exclusively dedicated to casino games. There are currently 287 operating e- games cafes across the country, a majority of which are owned and operated by 131 independent entrepreneurs.