Pagcor revenues up 11.6% to P75.8B in 2019

The state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. extended its streak of reporting continuously higher collections for the government, thanks to the strong performance of online gaming firms targeted at the Chinese market as well as better local casino operations.

In a statement, the gaming regulator said it recorded P75.8 billion in gaming revenues in 2019, an 11.6-percent increase from P67.85 billion in 2018.

The amount likewise exceeded the agency’s 2019 target by 1.8 percent or P1.3 billion.

Pagcor recorded P104.1 billion in total revenues. However, P36.3 billion came from “other income,” including the P32.7-billion sale of Pagcor’s land in Entertainment City to Sureste Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. The balance was the agency’s income from gaming operations.

“Among the biggest sources of Pagcor’s gaming revenues are the slot machine operations, electronic bingo, table games operations, regulatory fees from the Philippine offshore gaming operations and fees from licensed casinos,” the regulator said.

Due to the state-gaming firm’s buoyant performance in 2019, it was able to remit more than P56 billion to the government through its mandated contributions and other corporate social responsibility programs.

The lion’s share of this remittance—P35.9 billion—went to the national treasury through the 50-percent government share, followed by the 5-percent franchise tax of P3.8 billion.

Pagcor’s other notable contributions to the government were its P1.8-billion remittance to the Philippine Sports Commission, Dangerous Drugs Board (P60 million) and the Board of Claims (P118.9 million), an agency under the Department of Justice that grants compensation to victims of unjust imprisonment and victims of violent crimes.

The state-run gaming firm also remitted P123.3 million in cash incentives to national athletes and coaches who won in international sporting events by virtue of Republic Act No. 10699. Likewise, cities hosting Pagcor-operated casinos nationwide received P445.7 million in host cities’ share.

The strong collections from the Pogo sector came even after the regulator imposed a moratorium on licenses for new online gaming firms last year.

The moratorium was imposed after the last application was received in the middle of 2019, capping the number of legal Pogos in the country to 58, with three more firms waiting for their licenses. INQ