CEZA plans to diversify into casino, cryptocurrency

The Philippines’ former top online gambling licensing body is reportedly looking for an alternative revenue stream after President Rodrigo Duterte clipped its licensing power.

Manila Bulletin reported that Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) is considering the possibility of creating a cluster of tourist attractions in the northern Philippines, one that will include a casino gaming complex, hotel and villas, water theme park, golf courses, a horse-riding layout and a premium duty-free outlet shopping mall.

CEZA Administrator and CEO Raul L. Lambino said the tourism complex will be constructed in the island of Palaui, Cagayan. The 7,000-hectare protected sanctuary boasts a 20-kilometer powdery shoreline that could rival Boracayisland, a popular Philippine tourist destination dubbed as the world’s best island.

“We are now revisiting the Freeport’s master plan to update it with the changing time,” Lambino said, according to the news outlet. “Our medium-term development is to be centered on building the conducive environment for investors to locate their businesses at the Freeport.”