Pagcor eyes P6-B gain from Pogo scheme

The country’s gaming regulators expect the state’s revenue from online casinos—locally-incorporated outfits accessible only to foreign players—to double this year as more licensees of the Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) scheme come online.

In an interview, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chair Andrea Domingo said she expected the fees that Pogo firms pay the government to rise to P6 billion in 2018 from P3.1 billion last year—a dramatic increase for the system that was implemented in late 2016.

“Not all the licensees were fully operational last year,” she said of the 45 firms that were granted permission by Pagcor to base online casinos in the Philippines to serve large overseas gaming markets like China. “But this year, everyone will be operational, so we expect revenue to increase.”

The Pogo scheme was conceptualized under Domingo’s term as Pagcor chair to enable the government to capture a greater share of the growing online gaming pie that was previously unregulated and unchecked by national authorities.

Before the Pogo scheme was implemented, the Cagayan Export Zone Authority hosted more than 200 online gaming operations at its special economic zone and freeport in Aparri, Cagayan. The scheme brought the government only P56 million in yearly revenue, Domingo said, noting the sudden spike in the state’s share when Pagcor stepped in to regulate the lucrative business.

Under Pagcor rules, each Pogo licensee must pay $10,000 in licensing fees monthly for a minimum of 15 gaming tables, or a total of $150,000 a month per Pogo licensee.

“Today, the international betting community has a lot more confidence in fair play in gaming, and they know that that they’re protected against fraud,” Domingo said. “Secondly, the government is getting a lot more revenues now, instead of just P56 million a year.”