GGRAsia – Aristocrat helps pandemic fight in Philippines

Aristocrat helps pandemic fight in Philippines

Apr 27, 2020 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News, Philippines

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd, an Australian maker of electronic gaming machines, says it has donated an aggregate of 1,700 food packages to “medical infrastructure” – 10 hospitals and medical centres across the Philippines – as part of efforts to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The company is a supplier of gaming equipment to a number of casinos in that market.

The food packages will be used by hospitals and medical centres for their staff, family members of the staff “and the communities” in which the facilities operate, said the company in a recent press release. The distribution of the goods was done in partnership with the operator of the City of Dreams Manila casino resort, a complex in the country’s capital, Manila.

“These food packages were distributed in the area of Paranaque in Manila to enable the community, staff, and families to have access to essential food ingredients,” said Aristocrat.

It added: “City of Dreams has also worked with local hospitals … to provide medical supplies and food donations for medical staff throughout the crisis.”

The statement quoted Lloyd Robson, general manager of Aristocrat (Asia-Pacific), as saying: “We’re committed to helping wherever we can, and this is just one way that Aristocrat is giving back to the communities in which we live and work.”

Casino operators in the Philippines, as well as the country’s regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), have made contributions to that nation’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic linked with a novel coronavirus.

Casinos in the Philippine capital are to remain closed at least until May 15, after the government decided to extend the local quarantine to tackle the Covid-19 disease outbreak. The main island Luzon has been in anti-coronavirus lockdown since mid-March.

In a Friday written announcement, Pagcor said it had distributed additional personal protective equipment to several public hospitals. The items included gear donated by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

The Widus Foundation Inc – part of the Widus Group – said recently that it had donated PHP2 million (US$39,393) to the Clark Development Corp, “in response to the Covid19 pandemic”. The Widus Group is the owner and developer of the Widus Hotel and Casino complex in Clark Freeport Zone, in the Philippines.