PAGCOR rejects Okada group control of Okada Manila

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) decided not to recognize the Okada group's right to operate and manage Okada Manila, the casino resort in Entertainment City, Manila, in September 2022¹. The Universal Entertainment group then enforced a resolution order with the support of the Philippine National Police and retook management control of the facility¹.

The dispute dates to May 2022, when the source states that Okada occupied Okada Manila, which was operated by Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment, Inc. (TRLEI), in collusion with former directors, forcibly removed several TRLEI officers and employees, and carried out the unjust dismissal of employees, after which the Okada group continued to operate and control the facility¹.

The same source states that in October 2022, after the PAGCOR decision, Okada was arrested by the Philippine National Police¹. It does not report the specific charges behind that arrest, and no further detail on the October arrest appears in the source.

Background in the source: a Paranaque court issued an arrest warrant for Okada in January 2019 over an alleged improper payment received as CEO of TRLEI¹. In December 2021 the Philippine Court of Appeals ordered that warrant dismissed, finding a grave abuse of judicial discretion because the presumed facts required for an arrest were clearly absent¹. Okada was removed as chairman of Universal Entertainment in June 2017 and left the board at the end of his term¹. His son, Tomohiro Okada, returned as a director at an extraordinary shareholders meeting in September 2024 and immediately became representative director and president¹.

What it means for players

Okada Manila is one of the large integrated resorts in Entertainment City, Manila, and the change of operator does not by itself change entry rules, games or the rules inside for local players, expats or visitors. The source does not report any closure of the property, any change to gaming operations, or any effect on player funds, loyalty balances or outstanding tickets during the September 2022 handover. Operational details of the casino floor during the handover have not been reported in the source, which covers only the corporate and police action.

What happens next

The source records one dated step after the September 2022 decision: Okada's arrest by the Philippine National Police in October 2022¹. It does not report the outcome of that arrest, any court ruling on the PAGCOR decision, or any further ownership or licensing action. Those have not been reported in the source.

For background on the property, see Okada Manila: Entry Rules, Games and Getting There and Entertainment City Manila Casinos. For the wider market, see Casinos and Integrated Resorts in Asia and Can I Gamble in the Philippines?.