THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) expects higher gross gaming revenues (GGR) this year, with the expansion to be supported by the performance of both land-based gaming licenses and the electronic games (e-games) sectors.
In a press conference in Pasay on Wednesday, Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said the GGR is seen to reach a record P450 billion to P480 billion for 2025.
This comes from last year’s record-high figure of P410.5 billion, which saw a 24.8 percent hike from 2023’s P328.88 billion, based on Pagcor’s preliminary report.
Tengco said the Philippines’ 2024 GGR is the second highest in Asia, with Macau taking the top spot, although the actual figure for Macau was not cited.
“I believe (the growth this year) will come from e-gaming and I believe the trend (so far) this year will continue,” Tengco said. “Land-based will have, not as significant, but it will have growth, if the numbers I saw in January, I’m seeing in February, if it continues, land-based will have its growth,” he added.
In January alone, Tengco said, the GGR amounted to close to P40 billion versus the P28.5 billion in the same period a year ago.
“The income of one of our IRs is stabilizing. It opened in June last year. This year, I saw that for January to February, it looks high, it’s already generating sales,” Tengco said, referring to the newly opened Solaire Resort North.
“As for e-games, we continue to attract the unregistered (companies) to register because the rates that (we have now) are comparable to the license fees of online gaming jurisdictions around the world. We will continue to accept unregistered (entities) to register so that is where growth will come from, and as I said, the IRs are gaining momentum again, most especially the one in Quezon City,” Tengco said.
Last year, Tengco said the contributions to GGR of each sector are as follows: integrated resorts, 49 percent; e-games, 38 percent; offshore gaming operations, 9 percent; and Pagcor casinos, 4 percent.
For this year, IRs are seen to contribute 50 percent, e-games at 45 percent, while Pagcor casinos will account for the remaining 5 percent.
“The landscape of gaming has changed worldwide,” the Pagcor chief said, as he added that contributions of land-based casinos and e-games will likely be at a similar level in the next two or three years.
