The Philippine gaming regulator is to extend by one year the deadline for a Universal Entertainment affiliate to finish construction of a US$2bn integrated casino-resort project.
Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment, the local unit of gaming magnate Kazuo Okada's Universal, had asked for the extension after missing a March 2015 deadline to complete the Manila Bay Resorts project.
The company, which has already had its $2.2m guarantee confiscated by the gaming regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), has said it would finish the project by December 2016. There was no immediate comment from the company on the deadline extension.
Francis Hernando, Pagcor vice president, said Tiger now had to find a new $2.14m guarantee fee, improve its corporate governance and submit a bank guarantee that it could financially support the project.
He also warned the company that it could face more penalties should there be any further delays in the project. "It's a material breach of the provisional licence so suspension and revocation is possible," Hernando added.
Tiger holds one of four licences to operate a casino complex in Entertainment City, the Philippines' much smaller version of the Las Vegas Strip.
