Pagcor’s gaming ops income up 9pct in 1H2019: firm

Jul 25, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Casino regulator-cum-operator the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) reported income from gaming operations of approximately PHP36.57 billion (US$715.7 million) in the six months to June 30, up 9.3 percent from a year earlier.

The firm posted net income of PHP3.08 billion for the first half of 2019. Pagcor had reported net income of PHP35.79 billion for the first six 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 increased by 12.0 percent year-on-year to PHP15.80 billion in the first half of 2019, according to a financial statement posted on the firm’s website on Thursday.

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 PHP19.20 billion in gaming taxes and related compulsory payments from its first half gaming revenue. That figure included nearly PHP17.34 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 revenue – reached approximately PHP13.67 billion in the six months to June 30. Income collected from offshore gaming operators stood at nearly PHP2.67 billion in the reporting period, according to Pagcor’s latest financial statement.

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