Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has had enough of new casinos in the Southeast Asian country.
On Wednesday, The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Duterte has ordered state regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to stop issuing casino licenses to new investors, several days after he fired the entire Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) board and management over a “flawed” casino land lease deal.
“There will be no casinos outside of what was existing,” Duterte said in a speech during the police service anniversary at the Philippine National Police headquarters, according to the news outlet.
The casino land lease deal that Duterte was referring to was the agreement that the NPF executives signed with Hong Kong-listed casino investor Landing International Development Ltd. (LIDL).