{"id":777018992,"date":"2024-09-12T09:47:46","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T12:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777018992"},"modified":"2026-04-22T06:12:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:12:22","slug":"pagcor-casino-privatisation-unlikely-before-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/pagcor-casino-privatisation-unlikely-before-2026","title":{"rendered":"PAGCOR casino privatisation unlikely before 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco says the agency has not yet amended its charter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>The Philippines.- Alejandro Tengco, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), has said that the plan to privatise the agency&#8217;s 45 casinos is unlikely to go ahead until early 2026 due to the need for legislative amendments. Tengco had previously aimed for PAGCOR to move to a purely regulatory role by the third quarter of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tengco said the revision of PAGCOR\u2019s charter would occupy much of next year. He also said the privatisation process is proving to be more complex than anticipated, with work needed on modernisation and negotiations with lessors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PAGCOR regulates, authorises and licenses gaming in the Philippines but it also operates 45 casinos itself. This dual role has been seen as a conflict of interests and a potentially unfair advantage over private-sector licensees. The sale of its casino assets is now projected to generate around PHP50bn (US$893m), lower than initial estimates of PHP60bn to PHP80bn. PAGCOR does not own the properties where its casinos operate but leases them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During his speech at the opening of the IAG Academy Summit at the Hilton Manila, PAGCOR&#8217;s chairman announced\u00a0that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/pagcor-to-introduce-3341-new-slot-machines-for-casino-filipino-venues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">3,341 new slot machines\u00a0have been ordered<\/a> for Casino Filipino venues as part of a modernisation programme. The first batch of 1,968 slots will be delivered in mid-September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">PAGCOR posts GGR of US$1.56bn for Q2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>PAGCOR reported that gross gaming revenue for the second quarter of the year reached PHP89.23bn (US$1.56bn). That\u2019s a rise of 32.32 per cent year-over-year and&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/e-games-revenue-pushes-philippines-ggr-to-a-new-high-for-q1\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">9.21 per cent sequentially<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the regulator, the largest growth was seen in the eGames sector, where revenue rose by 525 per cent year-over-year to PHP30.85bn (US$538.66m). PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the sector \u201ccontinues to surpass targets and should help cover up for any shortfall\u201d resulting from the ban on offshore gaming operations by the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Private casino resorts, including those&nbsp;located&nbsp;in&nbsp;Manila\u2019s&nbsp;Entertainment City, continue to be the&nbsp;biggest&nbsp;contributors generating PHP49.48bn (US$863.95m). Revenue from PAGCOR-operated casinos reached PHP4.20bn (US$73.33m), down 14.8 per cent from a year earlier and 10.41 sequentially. Bingo revenue was also down at PHP4.69bn (US$81.89m).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco says the agency has not yet amended its charter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":8212,"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's privatization of its 45 casinos is delayed until early 2026, primarily due to the necessity for legislative charter amendments and complex negotiations, with projected sale proceeds now lower at PHP50bn. The agency's dual role as operator and regulator continues amidst a modernization program and strong Q2 GGR performance of US$1.56bn, driven significantly by the eGames sector.","focusai_entities":"Alejandro Tengco, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, PAGCOR, IAG Academy Summit, Hilton Manila","focusai_location":"The Philippines, Manila","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (0.98), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.92), investor_analyst (0.96), supplier_vendor (0.85), journalist_researcher (0.93)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact of privatization delay?","query":"What are the specific implications of the delayed PAGCOR privatization on the competitive landscape and foreign direct investment appetite within the Philippine gaming sector?"},{"label":"Legislative amendment details?","query":"What are the key legislative amendments required for PAGCOR's charter revision, and how might these impact future B2B\/B2C licensing frameworks and regulatory compliance obligations?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16333],"tags":[23907,405],"class_list":["post-777018992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-land-based-casino","tag-pagcor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777018992","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=777018992"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777018992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777019014,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777018992\/revisions\/777019014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777018992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777018992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777018992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}