Casino regulator-cum-operator the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) reported income from gaming operations of approximately PHP55.77 billion (US$1.09 billion) in the first nine months of 2019, up 10.9 percent from a year earlier. Pagcor also saw a 14.7-percent jump in total expenses for the period, according to data it filed on Wednesday.
The body posted net income of nearly PHP4.97 billion in the nine months to September 30. Pagcor had reported net income of about PHP37.59 billion for the first nine months of 2018, but such result was fuelled by a land sale to Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp, completed in June 2018.
Pagcor’s total expenses rose to PHP24.38 billion in the January to September period, according to its latest financial statement.
The state-run company, an operator of publicly-owned casinos as well as the regulator for the country’s entire casino industry, paid out a total of nearly PHP29.28 billion in gaming taxes and related compulsory payments from its gaming revenue.
That figure included PHP26.44 billion directly transferred to the Bureau of the Treasury. Pagcor is required by law to pass at least 50 percent of its annual gross earnings to the government’s treasury bureau.
Pagcor said regulatory fees collected from licensed casinos – included in its gaming operations revenue – reached approximately PHP21.11 billion in the nine months to September 30, up 19.4 percent from the prior-year period.
Income collected from offshore gaming operators – also known as POGOs – stood at PHP4.00 billion in the reporting period, 15.4 percent less than a year ago, according to Pagcor’s latest financial statement.
