The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) could achieve or even surpass its pre-pandemic income by yearend amid its strong performance in the first half of the year, according to the gaming regulator’s top official.
In a statement, Pagcor reported its total income amounted to P36.21 billion in the first half of 2023, a 35.64 percent increase from the previous year’s figure of P26.7 billion.
Pagcor’s revenues in the first semester was just P2.59 billion or 6.68 percent short of its pre-pandemic output of P38.81 billion in 2019.
Alejandro Tengco, Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer, said with the agency’s upward revenue trend, it is highly possible for Pagcor to reach or even exceed its pre-pandemic income by the end of 2023.
“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,” he said.
Pagcor’s January to June revenues showed that income from gaming operations and regulatory fees from licensees, which amounted to P34.12 billion, remained as the biggest contributor to its revenue performance. That amount was 38.03 percent higher compared to the P24.72 billion earnings in the previous year.
The higher income from gaming operations six months into the year was driven by the increase in total industry gross gaming revenue (GGR). From last year’s first semester record of P91.72 billion, January to June 2023 GGR rose by 48.68 percent to P136.37 billion.
“With the finetuning of our regulatory policies, we believe that the Philippines will become a more attractive gaming and entertainment hub both for investors and guests,” Tengco said.
As one of the biggest contributors to national coffers, the state-run gaming firm is not dependent on any government appropriation or subsidy, he added.
“It is in fact the other way around as Pagcor remits close to 70 percent of its revenues to the government in the form of direct remittances to the national coffers and through its other mandated contributions,” he said.
Tengco cited that with Pagcor’s positive performance in the first half of the year, the agency is projecting at least P272.74 billion revenues by the end of 2023.
“We have already hit approximately P136.37 billion GGR in the first semester. With the favorable business environment that we have right now, we are hopeful that we can reach or even surpass our revenue targets and contribute more to nation-building,” he said.
