The Philippine casino sector – including non-casino operations – produced gross gaming revenue (GGR) of PHP372.33 billion (US$6.51 billion) in full-year 2024, up 30.5 percent on the PHP285.27 billion generated in the previous year. That is according to data published this week by the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).
The full-year 2024 official tally is lower than the PHP410.48-billion preliminary figure cited in late February by Alejandro Tengco, chairman and chief executive of Pagcor.
In 2024, licensed casinos in the nation generated GGR of PHP201.84 billion, down 2.7 percent from the prior year.
Casinos in the national capital region, including the private-sector ones in Entertainment City, in Metro Manila (pictured), recorded GGR of PHP164.08 billion last year, down 5.3 percent from 2023.
At Clark, casinos generated GGR of PHP26.89 billion in 2024, 1.1-percent lower than in the previous year.
Clark, a former military base near Angeles City, is the home of Clark International Airport. The adjacent Clark Freeport Zone already has a cluster of gaming properties, including Hann Casino Resort.
Licensees within the so-called “Greenfield Zone”, a new category covering those rural provinces, cities or municipalities deemed to have high potential for tourism development, posted GGR of PHP9.47 billion, up from PHP5.51 billion in 2023.
The 2024 growth in aggregate GGR in the Philippines was supported by better performance from the electronic games sector.
The data showed that revenue from e-Games last year rose by 309.2 percent year-on-year, to PHP135.71 billion. It accounted for 36.4 percent of industry-wide GGR last year.
Pagcor-operated casinos – under its network of Casino Filipino venues – produced GGR of PHP15.98 billion in 2024, a decline of 18.6 percent from the prior year.
Pagcor’s Mr Tengco said in February that the Philippine gaming sector – including non-casino operations – was expected to produce GGR of between PHP450 billion and PHP480 billion this year.
The official said the increase in GGR this year would in likelihood be supported by a better performance of the e-Games sector.
