Pagcor CEO confident gaming sector will fully recover soon

Feb 03, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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The chairman and chief executive of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), Alejandro Tengco (pictured), says the body is optimistic that the nation’s gaming industry will continue its growth momentum in the coming years.

His comments were included in a press release about the agency’s income for full-year 2022. Pagcor reported aggregate income of PHP58.96 billion (US$1.08 billion) for the 12-month period, up 66.2 percent from 2021.

Gross income from gaming operations rose 68.7 percent year-on-year, to just above PHP55.05 billion, showed the 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”.

“Looking at Pagcor’s upward revenue trend since the first quarter of 2022 up to the end of the year, as well as the recovery path of other gaming hubs in Asia like Singapore and Macau, we are confident that the Philippine gaming sector will be able to fully recover, or even surpass its pre-pandemic earnings soon,” stated Mr Tengco.

Pagcor said the gaming industry’s “robust performance” in 2022 was also supported by the “opening of Philippine borders to local and foreign tourists”.

“Since the [Covid-19-related] lockdowns were eased in the country last year and gaming venues reopened, customer confidence slowly returned and the attendance in our owned casinos slowly improved,” Mr Tengco said. “Our licensed casinos likewise recorded a major revenue growth.”

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