MANILA, PHILIPPINES -- An expansion of anti-money laundering laws to cover gamblers would be detrimental to the country's competitiveness in the Asian gaming scene.
This was the lament by state gaming agency, PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation), after proposals were made to expand the country's anti-money laundering law and have the state gaming regulator placed under the auspices of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
According to PAGCOR Legal Officer Rubio Alicon, the proposal to report to the AMLC on suspicious bets "will be seriously detrimental and will make PAGCOR less competitive against its rivals in Singapore and Macau." He added that such moves "would be contrary to the current legislative trends in other jurisdictions".
He further added that gamblers nowadays use credit cards and not cash to buy casino chips and thus would not fall under the country's anti-money laundering laws.
Source: The Manila Standard Today
