{"id":777003542,"date":"2023-03-21T13:20:37","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T16:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777003542"},"modified":"2026-04-22T23:33:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T02:33:38","slug":"pagcor-seriously-considering-privatisation-of-gaming-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/pagcor-seriously-considering-privatisation-of-gaming-operations","title":{"rendered":"PAGCOR “seriously considering” privatisation of gaming operations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s estimated that the Philippines could raise PHP80bn (US$1.47bn) from the sale of PAGCOR\u2019s gaming operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Philippines.- Alejandro H. Tengco<\/strong>, chairman and chief executive officer of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), has revealed the regulator-cum-operator is “seriously considering the privatisation of all PAGCOR-operated casinos.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking with the press before delivering his keynote speech at the 5th ASEAN Gaming Summit<\/a>, Tengco said there could be a tender process open to international bidders, and casinos could be bundled together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tengco seemed keen to implement privatisation during his tenure<\/a>, which runs until 2028. He believes the Philippines could rise around PHP80bn (US$1.47bn) <\/strong> from the sale of the casinos. \u201cWe are the only regulatory body in the world that operates casinos in addition to regulating them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, PAGCOR generated PHP15.9bn in gross gaming revenue from its 44 state-owned Casino Filipino sites and PHP55.05bn in income from gaming operations<\/a>, up 68.7 per cent yearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last December, the Philippine finance secretary Benjamin E. Diokno <\/strong>said PAGCOR should be a regulator only<\/a>. The idea had been raised during the Duterte administration but didn\u2019t go ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s estimated that the Philippines could raise PHP80bn (US$1.47bn) from the sale of PAGCOR\u2019s gaming operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":20677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro H. Tengco is actively pursuing the privatization of all state-operated casinos, with an estimated sale value of PHP80bn (US$1.47bn) potentially open to international bidders. This strategic shift aims to transition PAGCOR from its current dual role as regulator and operator to a pure regulatory body, a concept previously advocated by the Philippine finance secretary. The move follows PAGCOR's significant gaming revenue generation from its Casino Filipino sites, highlighting the substantial asset value involved.","focusai_entities":"Alejandro H. Tengco, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Benjamin E. Diokno, Duterte administration","focusai_location":"Philippines","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.8), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Divestment Strategy?","query":"What specific divestment strategy, such as asset bundling or individual site sales, is PAGCOR considering to maximize value and attract a diverse pool of international bidders?"},{"label":"Post-Privatization Governance?","query":"How will PAGCOR ensure robust regulatory oversight and maintain market integrity once it transitions to a pure regulatory body, particularly concerning responsible gambling and AML frameworks?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,158,16333],"tags":[405],"class_list":["post-777003542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-slider-home","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-pagcor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777003542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777003542"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777003542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777003567,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777003542\/revisions\/777003567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777003542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777003542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777003542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}