National gaming regulator the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) is set to reduce further the gross gaming revenue (GGR) remittance rate for online and on-site betting platforms, starting from January next year.
Fees will be cut to 30 percent for land-based licences and to 25 percent for integrated resorts which are also involved in online gaming. The rate applicable to the latter was due to the greater complexity of their operations, said on Tuesday Alejandro Tengco, Pagcor’s chairman and chief executive.
“By lowering our licence fees, to be at par with the global industry standards, we hope to attract and keep more investors in place,” said Mr Tengco, as quoted by the official Philippine New Agency. He made the remarks in a speech at the opening of the IAG Academy Summit in Manila.
In separate comments to reporters, Mr Tengco stated: “The observation I made upon my assumption in the office was that the grey market or the underground market was doing so well, way, way better than Pagor. And licensees were closing shops, primarily because they could not compete anymore with the grey market.”
In a June interview with GGRAsia, Mr Tengo had said that Pagcor “needed to make sure” that it charged gaming operators in the country a “fair tariff”.
The licence fee – as a share of revenue – was cut to 35 percent in April this year. The rate used to be above 50 percent in 2022.
The Philippine gaming sector – including non-casino operations – produced GGR of PHP89.23 billion (US$1.59 billion currently) in the three months to June 30, up 32.3 percent from the prior-year quarter.
According to Pagcor, the electronically-delivered games segment remained the industry’s best performer in terms of growth during the period, reaching PHP30.85 billion in the second quarter.
“The e-Games sector growth is driven mainly by the rapid technological advances, the increasing availability and affordability of mobile gadgets and devices, and a fast-evolving consumer behaviour that is more and more becoming technology-driven,” Mr Tengco was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
He added: “By year-end, we project that this sector will generate close to PHP100 billion in GGR on its way to becoming the fastest-growing segment … in the next few years.”
Pagcor expects the nation’s gaming industry to generate PHP336.38 billion in GGR this year, a 17.9-percent increase compared with 2023. The first-half aggregate represented 50.8 percent of the agency’s target.
