The Philippine Economic Zone Authority closed the door on online gaming companies which are seeking to locate in IT parks and business process outsourcing complexes in Metro Manila.
Peza director-general Charito Plaza said the investment promotion agency made its position clear, despite the Office of the President’s standing request to legalize and authorize the operations of online gaming/betting companies inside Peza-accredited facilities.
“We refused and we won’t allow it. We’ve spoken to the BPOs and the IBPAP [IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines]….There were loose talks there are gaming firms disguising as BPOs to operate inside a BPO building, when the truth is that these gaming entities are locators of Apeco [Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority] and Ceza [Cagayan Economic Zone Authority] and not by Peza,” Plaza said over the weekend.
She said IBPAP was also firm on its position not to allow gambling inside IT parks and Peza-accredited buildings where legitimate BPO were companies operating.
Plaza said several online gaming companies sought membership from IBPAP, but the group refused to have them as members.
She said while gambling was allowed inside the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport and Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport, the Peza board decided not to allow it inside Peza-accredited facilities.
Plaza said the Office of the Solicitor General allowed gaming companies from Apeco and Ceza to operate in Metro Manila, pending the construction of the digital/technical infrastructure that would support their operations in Cagayan and Aurora.
A case cited was that of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.’s building in Makati City, which allowed an online gaming company to set up in the location reportedly without informing Peza.
Plaza said because of the incident, Peza urged building owners where BPO companies and IT companies were operating to become more circumspect when taking in tenants to protect the image of the BPO industry in general.
“After all, the BPO industry is still one of the major dollar earners and drivers of the economy,” Plaza said.
“The Peza board, in our meeting two weeks ago, came up with a resolution that any IT park or BPO building hosting gambling operations will be stripped of the benefits they get from and will face dis-accreditation by Peza,” she said.
Plaza said online gambling and business process outsourcing, though both dollar earners, were two different things with very distinct socio-economic impact.
“Therefore, we and the IBPAP shared the same view that mixing legitimate business and gambling under one roof is not a good business decision,” she said.
Plaza said gaming companies from Apeco and Ceza should also register with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. if they wanted to operate in Manila.