State-run casino operator and regulator the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) reported net income of PHP4.36 billion (US$84.4 million) for the first nine months of 2017, up by 36.3 percent from the prior-year period.
Income from gaming operations stood at PHP42.38 billion in the nine months to September 30, up 11.1 percent from a year earlier. In the three months to September 30, income from gaming operations reached PHP14.11 billion, a 0.8-percent sequential decline compared to the second quarter.
The second quarter of 2017 saw Pagcor suspend gaming operations at the Resorts World Manila casino venue, following the attack on the property by a lone gunman that led to the deaths of 37 people.
The suspension of Resorts World Manila’s gaming operations cost the property about PHP60 million per day in lost gaming revenue, according to its operator. Casino operations resumed on June 29.
In its latest report, published on Monday, Pagcor said that total expenses for the first nine months of 2017 increased 10.8 percent year-on-year to PHP17.71 billion.
The state-run company, an operator of publicly-owned casinos as well as the regulator for the country’s entire casino industry, paid out a total of PHP22.25 billion in gaming taxes and contributions in the January to September period. Pagcor is required by law to pass at least 50 percent of its annual gross earnings to the government’s treasury bureau.
Pagcor additionally contributed more than PHP7.5 billion to several state-managed funds in the fields of social affairs and culture, and to corporate social responsibility projects.
Pagcor posted net income of PHP4.46 billion in 2016, an increase of 18.1 percent from the previous year, according to official data. The results were positively affected by an increase of 22.9 percent in revenue from gaming operations.
The head of Pagcor, Andrea Domingo, said in August that nationwide casino gross gaming revenue was likely to post only a slight year-on-year increase in full 2017. Ms Domingo said at the time the revised forecast was related to the negative impact on the country’s casino sector following the deadly attack at Resorts World Manila.
