A report by Colliers International found that offshore online gambling operators made up of 25 percent of all office leasing transactions in the first nine months of 2017 in the Philippines.
The study found 356,000 square meters of office space was leased with demand driven by offshore gambling operators and traditional companies. Colliers said that it expects demand for office space to continue with the country on track to reach 550,000 square meters by the end of the year.
The research firm, however, said it was difficult to gauge the sustainability of demand from offshore gambling firms in the medium to long term “given the wide range of space requirement from players in this sector.”
The Philippine Amusement and Games Corporation has issued 42 Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators licenses since late 2016. Many of these licensees have required 5,000 square meters to 30,000 square meters per site.
“Assuming that the legality of their operations is recognized in the Philippines, notwithstanding cases which have been filed with the Supreme Court questioning PAGCOR’s jurisdiction over POGOs, concerns about potential crackdowns in home countries such as China and Korea persist even over a year into the expanded mandate of PAGCOR to regulate these entities,” Colliers said.
