Philippine Legislators target slots contract

 
Congressmen Angelo Palmones and Teddy Casiño called on government-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to cancel a planned contract  to supply paper-based ticket-in/ticket-out technology to be used for 5,083 slot machines in 18 casinos and arcades. Malaysia's RGB International Sdn. Bhd. and Perception Gaming Inc. led consortiums that submitted bids. Though the congressmen put the cost of the contract at 1.8 billion pesos ($ 44 million), Pagcor disputed their calculations and put the cost at just 516.6 million pesos. While the company described the technology and the system of which it is to be a part as a major upgrade of its backward systems, Palmones labelled the technology overpriced and out of date.