PAGCOR to contribute 10% GGR to Maharlika Investment Fund

The creation of the Maharlika Investment Fund as a new sovereign wealth fund was approved this week.

The Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) will have to contribute 10 per cent of gross gaming revenue (GGR) to the recently created Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF). The creation of the fund was approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday night (December 15) by 279 votes against six and no abstentions.

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will also contribute to the MIF. The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) have been removed from the fund’s list of contributors.

The move has rekindled the debate on whether to separate PAGCOR’s dual functions. Earlier this week, the Philippine finance secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said it should be a regulator only. 

Diokno said: “PAGCOR is a regulator but at the same time it operates gambling companies. That’s wrong. If you’re a regulator, stick to that. You cannot run gambling casinos. It’s like saying that you have a central bank and yet you’re also running a bank. That cannot work.”

The Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) is evaluating the decoupling of the functions of the regulator. 

Philippines GGR up 110.4% for Q3

PAGCOR has reported that gross gaming revenue in the third quarter of the year came to PHP49.36bn (US$860.7m). That’s a rise of 7.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 110.4 per cent year-on-year.

Private casino resorts, including those located in Manila’s Entertainment City, produced about 90.7 per cent of all GGR (PHP44.75bn). This was up by 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 105 per cent when compared to last year. Revenue from bingo, electronic games parlours and e-sabong are not included in casino GGR figures.

PAGCOR-owned casinos generated PHP4.63bn, up 21.6 per cent. This excludes bingo revenue at in-house venues.