By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) said revenue for 2023 reached P285.27 billion, marking a 33.1% increase from P214.33 billion reported in 2022.
This figure not only surpassed PAGCOR’s 2023 revenue target of P272.74 billion but also set a new record high, surpassing the previous record of P256.49 billion posted in 2019, PAGCOR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro H. Tengco said during a briefing on Monday.
The country’s integrated resorts are the biggest revenue contributors at P207.48 billion, followed by the electronic games sector at P58.16 billion, he said.
“Electronic gaming has brought up our revenue substantially. The growth is very exponential and I believe it will continue to grow.”
PAGCOR-operated casinos under the Casino Filipino brand took up P19.62 billion last year.
“Our 2023 results exceeded even our most optimistic projections, and it proves beyond doubt that the Philippine gaming industry has fully recovered and is now poised for sustained growth in the medium- to long-term,” Mr. Tengco said.
For 2024, Mr. Tengco said that PAGCOR is aiming to generate P336.38 billion worth of gross gaming revenue amid the expected opening of new integrated resorts.
“We are projecting that our licensed casinos from the Entertainment City, Metro Manila, Clark, Cebu, and the Fiesta Casinos in Rizal and Poro Point will contribute as much as P256.63 billion to our 2024 GGR,” Mr. Tengco said.
“I think the gaming sector will continue to grow. I’ve been around the world attending conferences and everybody is excited about the Philippine market,” he added.
He said that there is a possibility that the electronic gaming sector could eventually overcome land-based casino.
“I think the traditional land-based casinos will always stay. There are still people who still want to go for the actual excitement. Will electronic gaming eventually overcome land-based casinos? There is a possibility.”
Mr. Tengco also said that the proposed shutdown of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) or internet gaming licensees (IGLs) is not an easy decision, adding that he remains open to issuing licenses to IGLs in the future.
“We used to have 200 IGLs. Now, we have 48 IGLs. We generated P5 billion revenues in 2023, compared to the almost P3 billion in 2022. We have one-fourth of licensees.”
“The shutdown is not easy. There are close to 70,000 people Filipinos who are working for IGLs. Then there are 625,000 square meters of space that are being leased,” he added.
In October last year, PAGCOR announced that it would use the term IGL instead amid the reported violations of POGO operations in the country.
The National Economic and Development Authority in September said the expulsion of POGOs would help encourage “quality investments” and would be beneficial for the country in the long term.
In the same month, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means previously recommended the gradual phase-out of POGO operations due to its “negative social impact.”