E-gaming contributed US$1.03m to Philippine GGR in 2023, PAGCOR chairman says

PAGCOR’s chairman said there was a rise of over 90 per cent in online gaming in 2023.

The Philippines.- Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco told a panel at ICE London 2024 that online gaming increased by over 90 per cent year-on-year in the Philippines in 2023.

‘E-gaming’, a label that PAGCOR applies to e-games, e-bingo, speciality games and sports betting contributed PHP58.16bn (US$1,03m) to 2023 gross gaming revenue (GGR), Tengco said. This was 92.32 per cent higher than in 2022 (PHP30.24bn) and surpassed the previous high of PHP32.24bn in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tengco said PAGCOR reached a milestone of more than 1,000 licensed e-gaming sites in 2023 and that more applications are expected. E-gaming is expected to contribute PHP61.75bn this year.

PAGCOR’s chairman said: “Because of the policy changes implemented by the current management, there was a considerable increase in gaming sites. We also approved reductions in (licensing) rates that contributed to the spike in approved sites.

“The E-Games sector’s notable performance positively impacted not only the local gaming industry but also PAGCOR’s revenue generation efforts.”

The regulator plans to launch its own online casino for Casino Filipino, PAGCOR’s chain of 43 casinos this year.