PAGCOR reports net income of US$662m for H1
PAGCOR’s income in the first half of 2023 was up 35.64 per cent.
The Philippines.- The Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) has shared its financial results for the first half of the year. Income was up 35.64 per cent in year-on-year terms from PHP26.7bn to PHP36.21bn (US$662m).
The regulator reported revenue of PHP2.59bn (US$47m), 6.68 per cent short of its pre-pandemic of PHP38.81bn (US$710m) in 2019. The majority of PAGCOR’s revenue growth came from gaming operations and regulatory fees from licensees. These two sources accounted for PHP34.12bn, or 94.3 per cent of PAGCOR’s revenue and rose 38.03 per cent when compared to last year.
PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said PAGCOR would surpass its pre-pandemic revenue by the end of 2023.
He said: “PAGCOR will certainly ride on the tide of our country’s economic growth. As economic activities reach pre-pandemic levels, we are optimistic that we can sustain the gaming industry’s growth momentum as we fortify our regulatory policies to attract more investors in the Philippines.”
The increase in gaming operations revenue was driven by the growth in industry gross gaming revenue (GGR). GGR in the first half of 2023 reached PHP136.37bn (US$2.5bn), which is 48.68 per cent higher than GGR in the first half of 2022.
In the first half of 2023, PAGCOR remitted PHP22.62bn to the government, which is 48.50 per cent higher than the amount remitted in the first half of 2022. Of the total, PHP16.20bn went to the National Treasury while PHP8bn will be transferred to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to fund universal healthcare.
The remaining PHP6.42bn was remitted to other government agencies, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Board of Claims, the Philippine Sports Commission and cities hosting PAGCOR’s Casino Filipino branches.
A week ago, speaking at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia in Macau, Tengco said that PAGCOR is committed to shifting to a purely regulatory role. PAGCOR currently regulates, authorises and licenses gaming in the Philippines but it also operates over 40 casinos itself. However, this dual role has been seen as a conflict of interests and a potentially unfair advantage over private-sector licensees.
Tengco said that privatisation would bring new capital, advanced technologies and expertise into the Philippine gaming market. He also said the move would streamline PAGCOR’s processes, stimulate expansions and innovations and generate additional revenues for high-impact government projects.
