While many island nations including Tonga used to be known as tax havens for international corporations, and the domain name .to is popular for various categories of websites that might be blocked elsewhere, Tonga still resits building casinos.
In 2017, Tavake Tamafua Ltd, a corporation owned by Red Warrior Entertainment, a casino holding firm owned by American Indians, applied for the first casino licence in Tonga. All seemed well for an investment of over $450 million US. Besides a casino, the company would build a shopping mall, luxury villas and an airport resort that included gaming facilities.
The company alleges Tonga minister Tevita Lavemaau had written them guaranteeing government support, provided they invest at least 450 million US dollars in infrastructure and that 80 percent of the labour would be sourced from within Tonga. The government would grant them the exclusive right to build a casino in Tonga within the next two years. While gambling is still illegal in Tonga, the minister promised a change in legislation to support their efforts.
However, the directors of Tavake Tamafua Ltd later received a letter stating the government would be backing out of the deal. The Prime Minister stated in January that gambling is prohibited by law and that any attempt from Red Warrior Entertainment or any casino company to attain a licence would be futile. The backlash appears to have been religiously inspired. Reverend Tevita Haukinima, Treasurer of the Free Wesleyan Church stated that the FWC does not believe in casinos and dealing cards. The church, Christians, pastors and people are against gambling, according to him.
This explains the popularity of online casinos for Tongan players. This decision may have also hurt the Tongan economy in the long run. While a casino may be a risk for certain problem gamblers, a casino could have attracted thousands of tourists from the entire Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, China and even the USA. These are the type of tourists that have led to Macau’s financial success. More recently, casino tourism has begun injecting money into the Philippines’ economy. Other island states such as Curacao and Malta also benefit greatly from licensing online gambling, so this is clearly a missed opportunity for the Tongan state.
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“What I loved about Tonga is the really authentic, unspoilt and genuine feel about everything, it really makes you feel like you are experiencing a real taste of Polynesian island life. Seeing local women in their yards weaving baskets and making tapa next door to your guesthouse and having an entire island to yourself without the huge price tag… only in Tonga!” – Katie Dunn, Perth, Australia.