Gambling in the Philippines
Gambling in the Philippines was current since the sixteenth century,[1] and remains widespread in the country today. Currently, it takes on various legal and illegal types found almost all over the archipelago. The government handles gambling throughout the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) that aims to regulate and operate games of chance, and to generate government funds,[2] but there are also other private and public agencies that manages specific kinds of betting. In particular, casino gaming under PAGCOR is necessary to the nation’s tourism and earnings. The Philippines has more casinos than Macau, with twenty found in Metro Manila alone.
Before the Spanish colonization.,[1] gambling is thought to have already been within the Philippines. Although there are no exact records when gambling was initially practiced in the archipelago, it is possible that a few forms were introduced by the Chinese in the late sixteenth century. Because of the proximity of the two nations, many local Chinese would go to the Philippines for both business and profit, engaging in various trades and actions. [4][5] About Magellan’s voyage to the Philippines, it was mentioned in the accounts of Antonio Pigafetta, that he had already witnessed bets being placed on cockfights if his ship arrived at Palawan in 1521.
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