Casinos in the Philippines: GGR up 37.5% for Q3
The Philippine casino sector reported gross gaming revenue of PHP94.61bn (US$1.61bn).
The Philippines.- Gross gaming revenue from the Philippine casino sector in the third quarter of the year was PHP94.61bn (US$1.61bn). That’s an increase of 37.5 per cent year-on-year and 6 per cent sequentially from PHP89.23bn (US$1.56bn) in the second quarter of the year.
According to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR), the largest growth was seen in the eGames sector, where revenue rose by 464.38 per cent year-over-year to PHP35.71bn.
PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said: “This impressive performance is a strong indication that the use of modern technology and mobile gadgets in gaming and amusement will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of gaming.”
Private casino resorts, including those in Manila’s Entertainment City, continue to be the biggest contributors. They generated PHP50.72bn, a decline of 2.3 per cent year-on-year but a rise of 2 per cent sequentially. Revenue from PAGCOR-operated casinos reached PHP3.64bn, down 26.3 per cent from a year earlier and 22.4 sequentially.
In January, Tengco set a target of PHP336.38bn (US$6bn) in GGR for 2024, anticipating an 18 per cent increase. Income in the first nine months was up 98.1 per cent in year-on-year terms at PHP9.63bn (US$165.6m). Gross income reached PHP79.43bn (US$1.37bn), up by 42 per cent. The majority of revenue, PHP69.88bn (US$1.2bn), was generated from gaming operations, with 35.52 per cent, PHP28.22bn (US$487.9m), from online gaming.
Tourism in the Philippines: 4.8m visitors in first ten months of the year
The Department of Tourism (DOT) has reported that the Philippines received 4.87 million tourist arrivals in the first ten months of the year. That’s an increase of 9.76 per cent when compared to last year. Some 91.93 per cent of arrivals were foreign tourists, including overseas Filipinos (8.07 per cent).
South Korea remained the biggest source market, accounting for 26.9 per cent of arrivals. The figure was up 11.4 per cent when compared to last year. The United States was the second-biggest source market with 764,124 arrivals (15.6 per cent). The figure was up 2.9 per cent.
There were 321,913 arrivals from Japan, up 30 per cent in year-on-year terms, while China remained in the fourth spot, with 280,301 arrivals (up 25.4 per cent). There were 208,727 arrivals from Australia, up 0.66 per cent. Canada, retained its position as the sixth-largest source, with 177,571 visitors.
From Southeast Asia, Singapore accounted for 128,812 arrivals, an increase of 7.67 per cent, and Malaysia 80,892, up 1.6 per cent.
For the full year, the Philippines aims to attract 7.7 million arrivals. Last year, it received 5.45 million. In July, tourism secretary Christina Garcia Frasco reported that earnings from inbound visitors reached PHP282.17bn (US$4.83bn) in the first half.
