The Philippine casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), reported total income of PHP58.96 billion (US$1.08 billion) for full-year 2022. That was up 66.2 percent from the previous year, according to data released on Monday.
Gross income from gaming operations rose 68.7 percent year-on-year, to just above PHP55.05 billion, showed the data.
Pagcor’s total expenses for 2022 grew by 61.4 percent year-on-year, to PHP22.59 billion. During the period, Pagcor had also to deduct just below PHP31.65 billion in subsidies, financial assistance and other contributions to the government.
The gaming regulator-cum-operator posted net income of nearly PHP4.45 billion for 2022, compared to just PHP203.57 million in 2021. The 2021 result had seen a decline of 86.9 percent year-on-year in net income, amid disruption to travel and casino business linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite the increase in net income, the 2022 result was still just half of the PHP9.01-billion profit recorded in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, according to official data.
Pagcor is an operator of publicly-owned casinos as well as the regulator for the Philippines’ entire casino industry, which includes privately-developed venues. Its own brand of casinos is called “Casino Filipino”.
The improvement last year followed the easing from March 1 of Covid-19 restrictions in Metro Manila, home to the key commercial-casino market known as Entertainment City.
