Apr 11, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  
The Philippine casino regulator says it has passed on PHP6 billion (US$116.8 million) to the country’s treasury. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) said in a Monday press release the amount represented PHP1.04-billion in “declared dividends” for 2021, and PHP4.95-billion in “advance cash dividends, that may be applied against future dividend obligations”.
Recto Baltazar (pictured centre, right), Pagcor vice president in its finance group, presented a cheque for the amount to Ed Mariño (centre, left) national deputy treasurer, at a Bureau of the Treasury office in Manila.
Pagcor stated its latest remittance was “in response to the request of Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez for support to the government’s funding of the increase in social expenditures, to mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on… vulnerable sectors” in the Philippines. That was understood to be a reference to consumer inflation internationally on certain staple products, amid trade disruption linked to the war.
Pagcor chief executive and chairman Andrea Domingo was cited as saying in the press release: “We are now gaining momentum towards economic recovery as all businesses, including the gaming industry, are now on full operational level and revenues start pouring in once again.”
She added: “This enables us to fulfill our financial obligations with the government and to remain committed as one of its major partners in nation-building.”
Fourth-quarter casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose 22 percent from the third quarter, said Pagcor in an early-March update.
The improvement in GGR performance in the final quarter of 2021 coincided with the easing of capacity restrictions in November for the country’s casino sector, including at Entertainment City.
Since March 1 this year, Metro Manila has been placed under “alert level 1”, the lowest level of countermeasure against Covid-19, which allows business to operate at full capacity.
In late March, the Philippines’ tax body, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, said in a memo it expected “licensees and contractees” of Pagcor, to pay 5 percent franchise tax to the bureau on their income from operations, with responsibility for that in the hands of those licensees and contractees, rather than Pagcor itself.
May 30, 2023
May 24, 2023
Jun 01, 2023
Jun 01, 2023
Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking its market approach in the land-based segment, in terms of manufacturing and sales, says Naoki Kameda (pictured, left), the firm’s...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
”[Macau casino] operators may want to remain prudent in not appearing to reward shareholders too early”
DS Kim
Head of Asia gaming and leisure research at JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific)