Pagcor’s 2017 income up nearly 11pct on higher gaming rev

Feb 01, 2018 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines  

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State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) on Wednesday reported net income of approximately PHP4.95 billion (US$95.9 million) for 2017, up by 10.9 percent from full-year 2016.

Revenue from gaming operations increased by 7.6 percent from the previous year, to PHP57.34 billion in 2017, according to a Pagcor financial statement posted on its website. The body recorded an additional PHP2.52 billion in income from other services.

Pagcor, an operator of publicly owned casinos as well as the regulator for the country’s entire casino industry, which includes privately developed venues, said regulatory fees collected from licensed casinos rose nearly 2.3 percent year-on-year to PHP19.24 billion in 2017.

Nationwide the Philippines casino industry reported gross gaming revenue of PHP75.92 billion for the first half of 2017, an increase of 15.7 percent in year-on-year terms, according to official data released in October.

On Wednesday, Pagcor said its expenses – including operating expenses and contributions to the government – amounted to about PHP24.73 billion last year, up by nearly 9.5 percent compared to PHP22.58 billion in 2016, showed Pagcor’s unaudited results.

Direct gaming tax payments reached an aggregate of PHP30.0 billion in 2017, said Pagcor. That included PHP27.15 billion directly transferred to the Bureau of the Treasury. Pagcor is required by law to forfeit at least 50 percent of its annual gross earnings to the government’s treasury bureau.

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