IT infra to link Pagcor outlets, machines seen completed by Q2

State-run regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) eyes the completion by the second quarter next year of an IT infrastructure upgrade that will link all its casinos in the country.

The move will give Pagcor real-time information on how individual machines in all its casinos perform, which will help improve efficiency in its operations, Pagcor chair and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr. said.

“We will finally have this system that even small casinos abroad have. This will connect our machines nationwide,” Naguiat told reporters in an interview this week.

Pagcor currently uses a “manual” system in collecting the said data.

“Once our casinos are connected, we will know how much we are earning per minute,” he added.

“The cabling will start by July until the first quarter of next year. By the second quarter it will be fully connected.”

Pagcor operates 13 casinos across the country under the Casino Filipino brand, information posted on its website showed. Four of these are located in Metro Manila while other locations in Luzon are Angeles, Laoag, Mimosa, Olongapo and Tagaytay.

It has two in Cebu and one each in Bacolod and Davao. Pagcor also operates a number of satellite outlets but Naguiat declined to disclose the details.

Pagcor-owned casinos remain the major revenue contributor and are projected to provide about P35 billion of the regulator’s projected revenue of P42 billion this year.

That revenue mix would change dramatically as casinos in Entertainment City, the country’s response to gaming hubs in Macau and Singapore, open their doors through 2017 to 2018, Naguiat said.

So far, he noted that Pagcor-owned casinos in Metro Manila had posted a 5 percent decline in revenues with the opening of private casinos Solaire Resort & Casino in March and Resorts World Manila in 2009.

Naguiat said Pagcor was keen on opening more Casino Filipino branches but expansion could be tricky as certain locations were not keen on hosting casinos.

He said Pagcor  needed to involve all stakeholders, including religious leaders, before putting up new outlets.

Pagcor is also pursuing projects in line with its advocacy, including the planned installation of computer laboratories in all public elementary schools in the country. This project, estimated to cost P1 billion to P2 billion, is expected to be completed before the term of President Aquino ends in 2016. Miguel R. Camus