Dennis Uy Cebu casino license revoked
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) has revoked the Cebu casino license of Dennis Uy-led PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc. (PHR), which had failed to get the project off the ground.
In a stock filing on Thursday, the company said Pagcor had revoked the permit of its subsidiaries Lapulapu Leisure Inc. and Lapulapu Land Corp. (LLI-LLC) to operate an integrated resort and casino project in Mactan.
With this, its potential team up with construction giant EEI Corp. to jointly develop the project was “no longer feasible”, although talks had “not ripened to the execution of definitive agreements.”
PHR downplayed this development, saying the decision of Pagcor is not seen to impact its financial performance since the project has yet to begin commercial operations.
“The company will continue to explore other business opportunities,” it said.
Construction works for the project began in 2017, but PH Resorts hit some snags, especially in paying its obligations.
In mid-2024, Okada Manila operator Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI) terminated its deal with the Uy-backed firm, which would have allowed TRLEI to acquire a majority ownership stake in PH Travel subsidiaries.
Just last May 2025, China Banking Corp. said it would sell a 12.4-hectare beachfront property in Cebu province, where the long-delayed casino was supposed to rise.
The lender and LLI earlier had an agreement to restructure its multibillion-peso debt with the Sy family-led bank.
Under the leaseback deal, Uy’s company sold the property to Chinabank under the condition that it could eventually buy it back by March 2025. However, the deal lapsed, with China Bank saying that PH Resorts could no longer buy back the asset.
