Casinos in the Philippines push PAGCOR to record high

The casino industry has helped PAGCOR report a record and its largest annual dividend to the government in 2018.

Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) revealed on Tuesday that it turned over its largest annual dividend to the national government for its 2018 operating year. This record from PAGCOR was due to the strong performance of both private and government-run casinos.

The regulator said in a statement that the €274.4 million in cash dividends it turned over to the national treasury is the highest one-time remittance. The results almost matched the €291 million cumulative cash dividends from 2011 to 2017.

Andrea Domingo, chair and CEO of PAGCOR, said that the record high remittance is just the “tip of the iceberg”. The government uses that money to fund social and educational programs, among other things.

“In 2018, we recorded our highest revenue in history, which amounted to €1.7 billion,” she said. “This feat enabled our agency to significantly increase our contributions to nation-building by 42.52%.”.

Of the 2018 revenues, €1.1 billion came from PAGCOR’s income from gaming operations. Moreover, €615 million came from the sale of PAGCOR’s land in Entertainment City to Bloomberry Resorts Corp.

PAGCOR denied targeting China

A controversy sparked over potential licensing in the Philippines for online gaming operators targeting Chinese-nationals. However, PAGCOR has denied such accusations.

Furthermore, the gambling regulator from the Philippines said that its licensed operators and services providers are targeting Chinese-speakers in the area, not from China. In a press statement, it addressed a topic which has been a major concern in southeast Asia.

“PAGCOR would like to emphasise that unlike in China, where online gambling is illegal, the Philippines legally allows online gaming offered only to offshore based players where online gaming is allowed in their jurisdiction,” they said in a statement.