Philippines Seeking to Create New Las Vegas in Manila

Another casino operator is seeking to build a casino-resort in what is likely to become a gambling strip in Manila, even resembling that of Las Vegas. No wonder that casino moguls are looking into Asia-Pacific as the economies in this region grow quickly while the West stagnates.

The Philippine gambling laws, while not fully liberal, are set to attract foreign gamblers and their money. Hopes of bringing wealthy Chinese gamblers make the Filipino regulators approve new casino developments.

As the latest Filipino gambling news show, another powerful casino operator is looking to invest large sums of money in Manila. A Macau operator, Melco Crown, is teaming up with Belle Corp, a local real estate developer, to build a billion dollar casino-resort.

As some gambling money may now go into Manila, and not Macau, Melco is seeking to stay in the game, no matter where the Asian gamblers go. Who knows, Manila may become another Macau and there is surely room to grow as some Asia-Pacific economies grow 8-12% annually, a huge number especially when compared to nearly nil growth in the West.

On the other hand, when it comes to online casinos in Philippines , or other countries in the region, there is not that much activity going on since the laws are imprecise or even prohibitive.

In effect, the gamblers sign up with offshore casinos. Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand remain the most permissive countries in the region.

But, once Internet and mobile casinos in Philippines and elsewhere can function more freely, the growth in online gambling in the Far East is likely to explode.