Philippines casino ordered to shut down: report

Jul 28, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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The Oriental Paradise Casino, in the Philippines, has been ordered to shut down for alleged non-compliance with obligations, according to a media report.

The property is located in the Subic Bay Freeport area, which previously hosted a U.S. Naval facility. The freeport area is located 110 kilometres (68.4 miles) north of Manila, the country’s capital.

The casino’s operator – Frontier Wish International Ltd – received a letter on Monday from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority ordering the closure of the property for a reported failure in complying with a revenue-sharing arrangement between both parties, reported the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper.

The report said that the closure order would lapse once Frontier Wish International complied with the authority’s conditions.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority “is the operating and implementing arm of the government of the Philippines for the development of the 262 square mile (670 sq kilometre) area of Subic Bay Freeport into a self-sustaining tourism, industrial, commercial, financial and investment centre to generate employment opportunities,” according to its website.

The Inquirer reported that the closure order did not mention how much Frontier Wish International owed to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. But the newspaper said the order quoted a board resolution from the authority stating that casinos being operated under the licence of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) in the freeport area should remit 3 percent of gross casino winnings to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Frontier Wish International started operating the Oriental Paradise Casino in July 2012, when it took over from a previous operator, according to the Inquirer.

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