INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (Pagcor) revenues for the first nine months of the year have reached P79.43 billion, up by 42 percent from the P55.95 billion revenues year-on-year.
Pagcor chair and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said the increase was driven by the electronic games sector.
“The electronic games sector alone contributed P28.22 billion or 35.52 percent to the gaming revenue pie, followed by the licensed casino sector which chipped in 30.84 percent or P24.50 billion from licensee fees,” he said in a new release Thursday.
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The state gaming agency’s net income for the first nine months was at P9.63 billion, nearly double last year’s P4.85 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,” he said.
Of the total revenues, P69.88 billion were from gaming operations and license fees.
Other related services brought P6.43 billion while other income streams yielded P3.11 billion.
Pagcor’s contributions to nation-building also increased by 40.39 percent to P48.88 billion compared to last year’s P34.82 billion, Tengco said.
“From our total contributions to nation-building, P33.19 billion went to the National Treasury as 50 percent government share,” he added.
“Half of the remittances to the national coffers, or P16.59 billion, has been earmarked for PhilHealth to fund the Universal Healthcare Law.”
Aside from remittances to the National Treasury, Pagcor also paid a total of P3.49 billion in franchise taxes and P421.35 million in corporate income taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
The Philippine Sports Commission received five percent share at P1.65 billion.
About P90.68 million was released as incentives for athletes and coaches who won in international sports competitions.
Socio-civic projects under the Office of the President totaling P9.26 billion were also funded by Pagcor.
Cities that host Casino Filipino branches have received P525.95 million.
The Board of Claims under the Department of Justice received P99.08 million to compensate victims of unjust imprisonment.
Pagcor also earmarked PHP140.20 million for the Renewable Energy Trust Fund. (PNA)