The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) stated that the electronic games (E-Games) sector can fill the gap created by the ban on offshore gaming operations imposed by President Marcos.
Alejandro H. Tengco, Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer, said that the local gaming industry performed well in the second quarter, largely due to the “impressive” E-Games sector, which brought in P30.85 billion.
“The E-Games sector recorded an impressive 525 percent increase from the Php4.93 billion record year-on-year,” Tengco said in a statement.
“This sector continues to surpass targets and should help cover up for any shortfall resulting from the President’s order banning offshore gaming operations or POGOs [Philippine offshore gaming operations by the end of the year,” he added.
The Pagcor chief said the state-run gaming agency’s improved regulatory policies and reduced fees contributed to the success of the E-Games sector.
From April to June, the gross gaming revenues (GGR) in the Philippines reached P89.23 billion, 32.3 percent higher than the P67.43 billion reported during the same period last year.
Additionally, the second quarter GGR is 9.2 percent higher than the first quarter industry revenue of P81.70 billion.
Earlier, Tengco said that the E-Game industry has the potential to surpass traditional casinos in terms of revenue in the coming years as the gambling sector adapts to advancing technology.
In the second quarter, the licensed casinos generated P49.48 billion, remaining one of the largest contributors to the GGR. This amount, however, was lower than the previous year's record of P51.70 billion and the previous quarter's P49.68 billion.
Casino Filipino, which is operated by Pagcor, brought in P4.20 billion, showing a 14.8 percent decrease from the 2023 record of P4.93 billion and a 10.41 percent decrease from the previous quarter's P4.69 billion.
Bingo operations contributed P4.69 billion to the GGR, which was also lower than the 2023 second-quarter revenue of P5.85 billion and the first quarter's revenue of P4.81 billion.