State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) reported net income of approximately PHP152.6 million (US$3.2 million) for the first three months of 2021. It compared with net income of around PHP777.4 million in the prior-year period.
The body saw its revenue from gaming operations decline sharply during the period, as many casinos in the Philippines have remained closed or have been operating with limitations, as part of efforts to stem the further spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Pagcor’s total revenue from gaming operations for the first three months of 2021 decreased by 51.4 percent year-on-year to just above PHP8.36 billion, compared to approximately PHP17.22 billion in the first quarter of 2020.
The gaming regulator said it paid out a total of PHP4.39 billion in gaming taxes and contributions from that first-quarter gaming revenue. The deductions included nearly PHP3.96 billion directly transferred to the Bureau of the Treasury. Pagcor is required by law to pass at least 50 percent of its gross earnings to that national government body.
Pagcor’s total expenses fell by 45.8 percent year-on-year to nearly PHP4.38 billion in the first three months of 2021, according to a financial statement posted on its website on Tuesday. The body reported net decreases in overall operating expenses, as well as in contributions to social responsibility projects and other contributions mandated by special laws.
Pagcor, an operator of publicly-owned casinos as well as the regulator for the country’s entire casino industry, which includes privately-developed venues, said regulatory fees collected from licensed casinos reached approximately PHP3.73 billion in the three months to March 31, down from PHP6.82 billion a year earlier. Income collected from offshore gaming operators stood at approximately PHP678.1 million in the reporting period, down from PHP1.81 billion in the first three months of 2020, according to Pagcor’s latest financial statement.
Casino operations in the Metro Manila area, including at the large-scale private sector sites of City of Dreams Manila, Okada Manila, Resorts World Manila, and Solaire Resort and Casino, have remained closed since late-March, due to countermeasures against the Covid-19 pandemic.
