Appeals court orders PAGCOR to issue casino license

The Philippine Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling ordering the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to issue a license for Waterfront Philippines to operate an IR in Manila’s Entertainment City.

Waterfront filed a petition for mandamus in 2015 after Pagcor refused to act on its application, despite it having entered all relevant documentation, local media reports.

According to the 19-page ruling the trial court was correct in granting the petition as Waterfront completed all requirements for the project application, including paying a $100 million deposit.

The CA also sustained the award of P100,000 as moral damages, as well as P100,000 as exemplary damages to Waterfront, which plans to build the Grand Waterfront Hotel and Casino.

It stressed that the trial court’s decision should be implemented without delay, especially the issuance of a provisional license to operate in favor of Waterfront.

The resort would be joining Universal Entertainment’s Okada Manila, Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s City of Dreams Manila, Bloomberry Resorts' Solaire and a planned resort by Genting, which already operates Resorts World Manila near the international airport.

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