Prominence Poker Pans Around the Table Continuously
Asia
Business Groups Support POGO Phaseout
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Business groups and stakeholders expressed their support for the phaseout of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), citing its "social and reputational" costs to the country.
In a joint statement, the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), the Makati Business Club (MBC), and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) cited the crimes supposedly associated with POGOs.
"We fully support the Department of Finance's (DOF) push to phase out all POGO operations, and urge our legislators and the Executive Department to take all actions necessary to execute in an orderly way," the statement read.
The Department of Finance (DOF) has shared a similar sentiment, with Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier saying the industry has already been disallowed in other countries such as China and Cambodia.
"The social and reputational costs of government sponsorship of operations that are globally frowned upon far outweigh any economic benefits," the statement read.
"Conflicting mandates and the lure of corruption have rendered it and other involved government agencies incapable of effectively regulating POGOs," it added.
Data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) show that revenues from POGOs have hit P4.438 billion from January to August this year, higher than the P3.91 billion collected for the full year 2021.
Last year's collection fell short of the P32.1-billion goal, in line with Republic Act 11590 or the POGO Law, signed in September 2021 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte.
"The total ban will only result in temporary economic stains, as opposed to the enduring socio-economic consequences and heavier disruption if we do not act now," the business groups said.
"The Chinese government has been quite categorical in its objections to POGO, which they characterized as harming not only China's interest and China-Philippines relations but also hurt the interests of the Philippines," they added.
Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin earlier this month said the country can recover the potential losses from the exit of POGOs in other industries with high value added.
Asia
HyperLive Entertainment Acquires Nova Esports' International Division
Reading Time: < 1 minute
Hyperlive Entertainment, a Singapore-based tech-enabled creative media company, has announced that it has acquired the international division of world champion esports team, Nova Esports.
The deal will see Hyperlive assume control over Nova's international operations outside of China and the team will be rebranded as Nova Hyper Esports. These teams that compete in popular mobile esports titles such as PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile and Honor of Kings, will become part of Hyperlive's growing legion of esports brands that it manages and operates. Hyperlive intends to further acquire or introduce new teams in regions where esports/gaming communities are growing exponentially, such as Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
"Esports is an exciting industry that has grown tremendously in recent years and we are delighted to have acquired the international division of Nova Esports. We hope to build on Nova's massive support in China and create a strong international brand that can connect with the global audience," Dr. Sean Wong, CEO of Hyperlive, said.
The international headquarters of Nova Hyper Esports will be established in Singapore, where major players in the gaming sector are already headquartered, such as Garena, Razer, among many others. This strategic development will help Nova build its international profile, connect its global fanbase, and develop exciting commercial collaborations worldwide. Singapore will also serve as the centre of operations for existing teams based in the US and Europe.
"We have been very impressed by the exceptional performances of Nova Esports' international teams this year and we hope to achieve greater milestones in the future. We also intend to build our presence in Southeast Asia and compete in game titles that are popular in the region. We are confident that we can carry on the strong winning tradition of Nova and achieve success internationally," Wong said.
Asia
India: Over 250 Arrested in Chhattisgarh Crackdown on Betting App
Reading Time: < 1 minute
The Chhattisgarh state police have arrested over 250 people over the past month on allegations that they were operating centres in the state to lure people to indulge in online betting via an online application named Mahadev.
Police said the online application was launched by a group of people who operate out of Dubai. Chhattisgarh was one of the states where they opened centres in remote areas to lure people to download its app and place bets.
"They opened around 30 centres, mostly in Chhattisgarh, and more than INR 200 crores of transactions happen from each of these centres," a police officer said, adding that 258 people have been arrested in 25 cases so far. He added the application has close to four million downloads and most bets were in the range of INR 1000 to 5000.
Police teams in three districts, Raipur, Bhilai and Bilaspur, are investigating cases linked to the online application.
Source: https://europeangaming.eu/portal/compliance-updates/2022/10/26/123606/cambodia-issues-new-guidelines-for-gambling-businesses/
0 Response to "Prominence Poker Pans Around the Table Continuously"
Post a Comment