Cagayan casinos open doors to local gamblers

SANTA ANA, Cagayan—Casino complexes at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport (CSEZF) here have opened their doors to Filipino gamblers after five years of keeping them exclusive to foreigners.

But Julian Jovy Gonzales, CSEZF officer in charge, said the move to accommodate local gamblers was made only on a limited scale, given as a “special privilege” to tourists staying at the casinos’ luxury hotels and resorts.

“Only [Filipino] tourists who were allowed to stay at the hotels are given special passes to play at the casinos, to give them added leisure activities during their stay here,” he said.

Since July, government officials and local politicians have also been allowed access to the casinos as “a matter of courtesy,” Gonzales said.

The Cagayan free port is host to two casino complexes—the Cagayan (formerly Suncity) Holiday and Leisure Resorts in Tangatan and San Vicente villages, and Eastern Hawaii Casinos in Centro village.

At least 52 operators have obtained licenses from First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corp. (FCLRC) to operate at the casinos, offering gambling and recreational activities mainly to foreign tourists.

FCLRC is the sole “master licensor” appointed by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) for Internet-based gaming operations, touted to be the first and only one of its kind in Asia.

Before the opening of the casinos in December 2006, local Church leaders raised concern that these would lure Filipinos into gambling.

But Ceza officials allayed their fears, saying gambling activities at the casinos would only be exclusive to foreigners.

Chris Valenzona, Ceza spokesperson, said catering not only to foreign but also local gamblers is part of Ceza’s mandate to develop the CSEZF into a “self-sustaining industrial, commercial, financial, investment, tourism and recreational center and free port.”

“We are also allowed by law to conduct land-based [gambling activities] like [the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.], especially that we are a free port. But as of now, these are not yet in full operation [and are] limited to resort guests only,” he said.

Valenzona said casinos here, which were originally designed for Internet-based gambling, used to be closed to locals because of the absence of rules that would cover land-based gaming.

“Besides, there were no licensors for land-based gaming then, until about two years ago,” Valenzona said.

Ceza sources said casino managers were forced to entertain local gamers following the decrease in tourist arrivals from Hong Kong and mainland China.

“The casino industry [at CSEZF] suffered a slump after the Luneta hostage-taking,” said a source, citing the travel bans issued by the governments of Hong Kong and China following the Aug. 23, 2010, tragedy in Manila that left nine people dead, eight of them tourists from Hong Kong.

Gonzales, however, denied this, saying the downturn in tourist arrivals may have been just “coincidental.” Melvin Gascon, Inquirer Northern Luzon