PAGCOR expects P2.5 billion in remainder of 2020

The total for the year will be significantly less than the P5.73 billion the agency cashed last year.

Philippines.-  The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has admitted it expects to collect far less income this year from Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

Chair and CEO Andrea D. Domingo said PAGCOR expected to take from P2.5 billion to P3 billion for the remainder of the year, The Manila Times reported.

That will make the total amount for the year significantly lower than the the P5.73 billion the agency cashed last year from obligations and processing fees. From January to March of 2020, collection from POGOs was close to P1.8 billion.

Earlier this week Domingo said PAGCOR expected land-based casinos in the Philippines to be able to reopen following lockdown, at the end of June, or in July at the latest.

She said the move would benefit the country’s economic recovery as well as the 132,000 employees in the industry.

She said: “We have to maximise revenue collection, because our government, as all governments, needs the money, not only to fight Covid-19, but to buy the vaccine when it’s available next year, and to do massive testing, which is costing a lot of money.”