Inquirer files
MANILA, Philippines — Revenues of the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) went up by more than 30 percent to P89 billion in the second quarter, driven by the impact of policy reforms introduced last year.
In a statement, Pagcor, the country’s gaming regulator, said the Philippines’ gross gaming revenue amounted to P89.23 billion in the April-to-June period, up by 32.32 percent from P67.43 billion last year.
This was also an increase of 9.21 percent from the previous quarter’s P81.70 billion.
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For the second quarter, revenues of the electronic games (e-games) sector surged by 525 percent to P30.85 billion from P4.93 billion last year, making it the best growth performer among other sectors.
“This sector continues to surpass targets and should help cover up for any shortfall resulting from the President’s order banning [Philippine] offshore gaming operations or Pogos, by the end of the year,” Pagcor chair and chief executive Alejandro Tengco said in a statement.
Tengco also attributed the rosy performance of the e-games sector to policy reforms implemented by the agency last year.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered an immediate ban on Pogos during his third State of the Nation Address last month, following the industry’s links to human trafficking and illegal activities in the country.
Meanwhile, licensed casinos logged P49.48 billion in revenues, albeit at a lower level from last year’s P51.70 billion and the P49.68 billion seen in the previous quarter.
Pagcor-operated casinos under the Casino Filipino brand also chipped in P4.20 billion during the period, down by 14.80 percent from P4.93 billion a year ago and 10.41 percent lower compared to last quarter’s P4.69 billion.
Operations from bingo contributed P4.69 billion, also lower than P5.85 billion last year and P4.81 billion in the first quarter.