Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR said overnight that it had booked a 35.6% increase in total income from fees and taxes charged in the first six months of 2023 to Php36.21 billion (US$663 million), boosted by a 48.7% increase in industry-wide gross gaming revenues to Php136.37 billion (US$2.50 billion).
While the agency has not yet made public its results for the June 2023 quarter alone, it previously revealed Q1 income of Php17.7 billion (US$324 million) – suggesting that income in Q2 reached Php18.5 billion (US$339 million) across its various operations. PAGCOR licenses and regulates all gaming activities across the Philippines and also operates 43 casinos via the Casino Filipino brand and affiliated satellites.
The agency said its revenues for the first half of 2023 were 6.7% lower than its pre-pandemic output of Php38.8 billion (US$710 million) in 1H19.
“PAGCOR will certainly ride on the tide of our country’s economic growth,” said PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco.
“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.”
Revenues from January to June showed income from gaming operations and regulatory fees from licensees remained the largest contributor to PAGCOR’s coffers at Php34.12 billion (US$625 million), up 38.0% year-on-year thanks to the significant improvement in GGR.
As a result, contribution to nation-building also increased with PAGCOR providing Php22.62 billion (US$414 million) in H1, of which Php16.20 billion (US$297 million) went directly to the National Treasury as 50% government share. Another Php8 billion (US$146 million) will be transferred to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to fund Universal Healthcare benefits.
Separately, PAGCOR said it allocated Php3.61 billion (US$66 million) for the government’s socio-civic programs, while Php1.70 billion (US$31 million) was remitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue as 5% franchise tax and Php19.92 billion (US$365 million) to the Board of Claims under the Department of Justice.
Another Php810.47 million (US$14.9 million) was remitted to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Php17.97 million (US$329,000) to the PSC as Sports Incentives and Benefits for national athletes and coaches who won in international competitions and Php225.86 million (US$4.1 million) to cities hosting PAGCOR’s Casino Filipino branches.
“We have already hit approximately Php136.37 billion (US$2.5 billion) Gross Gaming Revenue or 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,” Tengco said.
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