MANILA, Philippines -- IPVG Corp. has entered into a joint venture creating a data center in Cagayan province to provide hosting services for online gaming companies based abroad.

Called First Cagayan Converge Data Center Inc. (FCCDI), the joint venture is between First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corp (FCLRC) and IP-Converge, the data center subsidiary of IPVG.

FCLRC holds a 60-percent stake in FCCDCI, located in an IT park at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) in Sta. Ana, about two hours away from the capital city of Tuguegarao.

Rene Nunez, FCLRC vice president, said total investment in the data center is somewhere between $3 million and $5 million.

FCLRC is already hosting around eight foreign companies in Cagayan. These companies operate online casinos, with hosting and support services provided from Cagayan.

CSEZ is the only ecozone allowed by law to accommodate online gaming as a tourism-related industry. FCLRC already hosts at least 18 more companies at the main IP-Converge facility located at the RCBC Tower in Makati City.

The plan, according to Nunez, is to fully migrate hosting and support services for all online gaming clients to the data center in Cagayan.

Most of these gaming companies operate within Asia Pacific, including Macau. Some of these companies operate both Web-based and "land-based" casinos, Nunez said.

"By law, we cannot take in bets from the Philippines and the United States. We manage the IP traffic," Nunez noted. FCLRC is also building a resort in the economic zone meant for client-operators bringing in their players for tourism activities in Cagayan.

Nunez noted a booming online casino market, especially in Asia Pacific, with total legal bets amounting to $10 billion.