Philippines receives endorsement of casino gambling from Trade Secretary

The Philippines may never be known as a casino gambling mecca such as Las Vegas or Macau, but they could improve their foreign investments. That is according to their trade secretary Favila.

On Monday Trade Secretary Favila told the House of Representatives that exploring the option of a casino gambling complex modeled after Las Vegas could be beneficial to improving foreign investments. He pointed to Malaysia and Singapore as examples of how casino gambling has helped.

„Maybe this is something that we can take a look at,“ he said to lawmakers on Monday, „I know the sensibilities of certain sectors, I know the sensibilities of the Church, but we might be missing (an opportunity).“

Singapore and Malaysia have both improved their foreign investments through the use of legalized gaming. The entertainment and gaming expansion of these two countries account for the nearly USD 6 to USD 8 billion difference between them and the Philippines in foreign direct investments.

Of course, as is the case with any casino debate, the opposition has lined up to fight against the expansion. They claim that bringing casinos to the country is to show signs of desperation.