PAGCOR more than doubles net income in 1st half of 2024

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) on Sunday said it more than doubled its net income for the first half of 2024, driven by the double-digit growth in its gross revenues during the period.

In an emailed statement, PAGCOR said its net income climbed 121.48% to P6.56 billion from P2.96 billion the same period in 2023, as its gross gaming revenue (GGR) jumped 19.21% to P194.743 billion and gross revenues increased 42.92% to P51.76 billion.

Gaming operations contributed P45.39 billion to revenues, with nearly half or 45.53% coming from the online gaming sector — made of E-Games, E-Bingo, and bingo grantees — which contributed P20.66 billion.

“Given the phenomenal revenue increase in the E-Games sector, and with more players and investors signifying their intent to enter the Philippine market, we are confident that the year 2024 will be truly a banner year for PAGCOR,” chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said.

Integrated resorts or licensed casinos contributed P16.06 billion or 35.43%, while PAGCOR-operated casinos under the Casino Filipino generated P6.93 billion or 15.27%.

PAGCOR said it contributed P31.82 billion in Contribution to Nation-Building (CNB) to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) in the first half, up from P22.62 billion the same period last year.

In 2023, PAGCOR said it plans to privatize self-operated casinos moving forward, and instead focus on a purely regulatory role.

Under its mandate, PAGCOR is required to regulate the gaming industry, generate revenues for the Philippine government's socio-civic and national development programs, and help promote the tourism industry. It expects to raise at least P60 billion to P80 billion from such plans.

It targets to divest from casino operations in the next five years, during which it also expects one integrated resort to open each year.—RF, GMA Integrated News