PAGCOR 9-month net income up to P9.63B

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) on Tuesday said it nearly doubled its net income for the first nine months of the year, on the back of double-digit growth in revenues driven by the stronger performance of electronic games and licensed casinos.

PAGCOR said its net income from January to September increased to P9.63 billion from P4.85 billion the same period, while revenues climbed 42% to P79.43 billion from P55.95 billion in the comparable period in 2023.

Broken down, the electronic games sector contributed P28.22 billion or 35.52% of total revenues, the licensed casino sector with P24.50 billion or 30.84%, other related services with P6.43 billion, and other income at P3.11 billion.

"Our third quarter performance is a strong indication that in spite of the President's decision to ban offshore gaming operations in the country, we are still on track to meet our P100-billion revenue target by yearend," PAGCOR chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said in an emailed statement.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., in his third state of the nation address (SONA) in July, announced the ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), while ordering PAGCOR to wind down and stop all their operations by the end of the year.

PAGCOR said contributions to nation-building increased by 40.39% to P48.88 billion, with P33.19 billion going to the National Treasury. Out of the remittances to the national coffers, P16.59 billion was earmarked for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to finance the Universal Healthcare Law.

The state-run firm also paid P3.49 billion in franchise taxes and P421.35 million in Corporate Income Taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and remitted P1.65 billion to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

In 2023, PAGCOR said it planned to privatize self-operated casinos moving forward, and instead focusing on a purely regulatory role. It expected 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.

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. — VDV, GMA Integrated News