LIDL wins license to operate casino resort in Manila

Landing International Development Ltd (LIDL), a Hong Kong-based investment company that operates casinos, has obtained provisional approval to construct a $1.5b resort casino in Manila.

The company will be operating the resort in Manila’s Entertainment City gaming zone through its subsidiary Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corporation.

The agreement between LIDL and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is for operating the resort for 15 years term from the date issued or until 11 July 2033. As of now the license does not allow LIDL to offer video streaming or internet gambling, unless PAGCOR declares otherwise.

LIDL has committed to spending at least $1b (and likely up to $1.5b) on its Entertainment City venue, which the company hopes to open by “early 2022.” The company has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony on the development site on August 7.

The company cautioned that the project’s fate was contingent upon it receiving “other approvals” necessary to commence construction, “and these may or may not be granted.” Ordinarily, this is a boilerplate clause, but in LIDL’s case, nothing can be taken for granted.

Just last month, government auditors expressed concerns over the legality of the land lease deal LIDL had struck with its local partner, the Nayong Pilipino Foundation. The Philippine Commission on Audit expressed alarm at the favourable terms that LIDL had secured, which were far less steep than lease prices paid by other Entertainment City operators.

Should the project go forward, LIDL is promising a Filipino cultural theme park, an indoor waterpark, an indoor movie-based theme park, a convention centre, luxury hotels, retail and dining areas, along with a 28k-square-meter gaming floor with a “sky casino” theme.

LIDL chairman Dr. Yang Zhihui (pictured) thanked PAGCOR “for their vote of confidence” in granting the provisional license, while pledging that the planned resort “will contribute positively” to the nation’s tourism sector – particularly via guests from South Korea – and create “significant job opportunities” both in the construction phase and afterward.

Entertainment City currently boasts three active resort casinos – Solaire Resort & Casino, City of Dreams Manila and Okada Manila – while Travellers International’s West Side City Resorts World is planning a 2020 launch.

Source: calvinayre.com