PAGCOR Orders Landing International To Open Theme Park Before Casino

After being granted provisional approval for a $1.5 billion casino resort in the Philippines, Landing International Development Ltd (LIDL) was informed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) that it cannot begin casino operations until a planned theme park included in the Manila scheme was opened first.

The provisional and regular license issued by Pagcor is valid for 15 years and will expire in July 2033. After that, Pagcor will decide whether or not to renew the regular license. Pagcor notified the Office of the President of the provisions included in the proposed project and advised Landing to “secure a clearance” from the country’s President Rodrigo Duterte. Online gambling and video streaming were not included in the license and the casino project is still subject to other approvals.

Landing Eyes Integrated Resort in Manila

Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corporation, a subsidiary of LIDL plans to build an integrated resort located in Manila’s Entertainment City gaming zone. The casino project, dubbed “NayonLanding”, will see various theme parks being built in a 9.5-hectare area within the Entertainment City.

This will include an indoor movie-based theme park, indoor waterpark and a Filipino cultural theme park. A “sky casino” with a 28,000 square meter gaming floor and which will occupy approximately 7.5 percent of the project’s total gross area, will also rise along with dining hubs, retail stores, luxury hotels and a convention center.

In a statement, Pagcor said

Landing may not commence casino operations before the end of February 2022 in observance of Pagcor’s agreement with the existing integrated resorts and casinos in Entertainment City, to give them a period of five years to allow the industry to mature starting February 2017

Casino Project Will Boost Tourism

The scheme has been established in partnership with the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, a body responsible for promoting and initiating research and development projects in the Philippines. Landing Resorts will hold a ground breaking ceremony for the project on August 7 with operations expected to commence in early 2022. LIDL said the proposed resort will boost the country’s tourism sector and will attract more guests and significant job opportunities.

Entertainment City, a 120-hectare area close to Manila, is currently undergoing development which will turn the zone into a casino cluster. Three active resorts are currently operating in Entertainment City, namely the City of Dreams Manila, Okada Manila and Solaire Resort and Casino. The Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. is also planning to open a fourth casino which is expected to be launched by 2020.