PAGCOR net income reaches US$60.1m for the first nine months of 2022
PAGCOR’s income from gaming operations rose by 75.8 per cent year-on-year.
The Philippines.- The Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) has shared its financial results for the first nine months of the year. Net income grew from PHP183.92m to PHP3.48bn (US$60.1m). The regulator’s aggregate revenue was up 73.5 per cent to PHP42.27bn while income from gaming operations rose by 75.8 per cent to PHP39.17bn.
It attributed the increase in revenue to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Many casinos in the Philippines resumed full operations in March. PAGCOR’s spending grew 64.7 per cent year-on-year to PHP16.09bn, with the regulator and operator paying an additional PHP2.49bn in taxes and contributions.
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PAGCOR’s latest financial report comes amid a debate about the possible privatisation of its gaming operations. Earlier this month, the Philippines’ Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations (GCG) renewed its proposal to separate PAGCOR’s dual functions.
In 2018, the GCG had recommended to the then-president Rodrigo Roa Duterte that PAGCOR’s commercial and regulatory functions be separated due to the conflict of interests caused by its dual role as both an operator of casinos and a regulatory of gaming operators. The Duterte administration didn’t take up those recommendations at the time.
According to the Manila Bulletin, GCG chairperson Alex L. Quiroz said the 2018 GCG recommendation is now being reviewed. However, the final decision on whether to privatise PAGCOR’s casino operations will still depend on the current president. In August, Benjamin E. Diokno, the Philippines’ finance secretary, said the issue of PAGCOR’s potential conflict of interest needed to be resolved.
