The Philippine casino sector produced in the three months to June 30 just a small fraction of what it usually makes each quarter in terms of gross gaming revenue (GGR), according to data released by the country’s regulator. Most of the industry was shut during the April to June period, as part of temporary measures nationwide to contain the further local spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country’s casinos reported second-quarter GGR of nearly PHP2.27 billion (US$46.8 million), compared to PHP52.30 billion in the prior-year period. The figure was down from the PHP45.40 billion recorded in the opening quarter of 2020.
The data was published by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), an operator of public-sector casinos as well as regulator and licensor of commercial-sector venues.
National second-quarter casino revenue was negatively affected by the mid-March shutdown of casino complexes in the Metro Manila area, including the large-scale private sector sites of City of Dreams Manila, Okada Manila, Resorts World Manila and Solaire Resort and Casino. They have since been allowed to resume “trial run operations” at 30 percent capacity.
Nationwide, the private-sector casinos – including those in Clark Freeport and elsewhere – produced just above PHP2.16 billion in GGR in the second quarter. Private-sector casinos based in Entertainment City, a special development zone for gaming resorts in the capital Manila, accounted for nearly PHP1.96 billion in GGR in the period.
Junket play in private-sector venues generated nearly PHP129.8 million in GGR in the three months to June 30, compared to just below PHP1.69 billion a year earlier.
Pagcor’s own casinos – branded Casino Filipino – saw their GGR fall to nearly PHP88.0 million in the second quarter, from PHP9.07 billion in the prior-year. The figure was down from PHP5.94 billion in the preceding quarter.
The second-quarter GGR tally for electronic gaming parlours was just below PHP10.1 million, down from PHP1.29 billion in the opening quarter, showed the official data.
In July, state-run Pagcor reported a net loss of nearly PHP1.60 billion for the first six months of 2020. It compared with net income of almost PHP3.08 billion in the prior-year period.
