PH gaming sector books P94.61B revenues in Q3, up 37.52% —PAGCOR

The country’s gaming industry saw a double-digit growth in revenues in the third quarter of 2024, driven primarily by sales increase in the electronic games sector that offset the decline seen in other traditional gaming sectors.

In a statement on Thursday, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) reported that the local gaming sector’s gross gaming revenues (GGR) stood at P94.61 billion in the July-to-September period, up 37.52% from P68.79 billion in the same quarter last year.

PAGCOR attributed the GGR increase during the period to electronic gaming, which saw an over five-fold expansion in terms of revenues.

Electronic games generated P35.71 billion in revenues in the third quarter, up 464.38% from P6.32 billion year-on-year.

“The electronic gaming sector recorded a phenomenal increase of 464.38% from last year,” said PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco.

“This impressive performance is a strong indication that the use of modern technology and mobile gadgets in gaming and amusement will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of gaming,” he added.

The PAGCOR chief expressed confidence that the e-games sector will continue to thrive as technology increasingly becomes an integral part of people’s lifestyles, including in shopping, gaming and entertainment.

“In fact, by year-end, we expect this sector to generate as much as P78 billion in license fees alone, substantially contributing to the realization of our P100 billion revenue target for 2024,” Tengco said.

Meanwhile, the country’s licensed casinos, which remained the biggest contributor to the third quarter GGR, brought in P50.72 billion despite a 2.27% decline in revenue performance compared to last year’s P51.90 billion.

Gaming revenues of Casino Filipino, operated by PAGCOR, stood at P3.64 billion, down 26.32% from P4.94 billion seen last year.

Moreover, PAGCOR reported that bingo operations contributed P4.52 billion to the GGR, down 19.43% from P5.61 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2023. —KBK, GMA Integrated News