MANILA VERDICT MAY DISCOURAGE FOREIGN HIGH ROLLERS
25 December 2009
Korean punter loses $2 million case against
PAGCORP
A decision in the Philippine Supreme Court this week
will do little to reassure foreign high rollers taking
advantage of 'whale' junkets to the Asian region.
The case involved a Korean high roller who claimed
the right to redeem $2.1 million in chips he had
accumulated after four trips to a Philippine land casino
in Manila on junkets run by the Philippines casino
gambling monopoly PAGCORP and its partner ABS
Corporation.
When PAGCORP refused to help cash
in Yun Kwan-byung's chips, the Korean high stakes player
started a series of legal actions which progressed
unsuccessfully through a regional court, a court of
appeal and finally the Supreme Court.
In its
ruling, the Supreme Court said the petition by Yun Kwan-byung
lacked merit as he had gambled in the Philippines under
an illegal junket agreement between the Philippine
monopoly operator and its Korean partner ABS.
The high-roller program 'imported' foreigners to gamble
in the Philippines at specially designated gaming tables
at the Casino Filipino Silahis at the Grand Boulevard
Hotel in Manila.
Under the agreement, "ABS
Corporation will assume sole responsibility to pay the
winnings of its foreign players and settle the
collectibles from losing players."
The Supreme
Court decision was based on the premise that over the
period of Yun Kwan-byung's gambling action in the
Philippes, PAGCOR was covered by an old law that
prohibited it from entering into an agreement with a
third party like ABS in the conduct of casino
operations.
The Supreme Court ruled that since
Yun played under an essentially illegal gambling
arrangement, "no action can be maintained by the winner
for the collection of what he has won in a game of
chance."
"The petitioner cannot sue PAGCOR to
redeem the cash value of the gambling chips or recover
damages arising from an illegal activity for two
reasons," the court's ruling declared.
"First,
the petitioner engaged in gambling with ABS Corporation
and not with PAGCOR.
"Second, the court cannot
assist the petitioner in enforcing an illegal act.
Moreover, for a court to grant the petitioner's prayer
would mean enforcing the junket agreement, which is
void."
It is not clear what the player's rights
and intentions are regarding ABS Corporation, a Korean
entity.
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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