PAGCOR payments surged 25% in May, gaming industry recovers, esports revenue hits record
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) contributions to the government increased by 25% year-on-year in May, underscoring the continued recovery of the Philippine gaming industry. Treasury data showed that the gaming regulator sent 3.27 billion Philippine pesos ($55.9 million) to the government in May 2024, up from 2.6 billion Philippine pesos ($44.4 million) in May 2023.
According to the Manila Bulletin, PAGCOR’s remittance volume in May increased its total for the first five months of the year to Php 17.38 billion (US$297 million), an increase of 31% from Php 13.25 billion (US$226.5 million) in the same period last year. %.
PAGCOR’s contributions from January to May 2024 exceeded the pre-pandemic level of 13.25 billion Philippine pesos (US$226.5 million) in 2019, reflecting the gaming industry’s recovery and resilience following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Philippine government implemented a strict lockdown on March 16, 2020, which lasted for two years and was one of the longest lockdowns in the world.
The Philippine gaming industry has faced challenges during the epidemic, with casinos operating at reduced capacity and restrictions on foreign gamblers increasing. By law, PAGCOR, the third largest revenue-generating agency of the Philippine government, must allocate 50% of its net income to the national government.
The Philippine Department of Finance is expected to receive 29.87 billion Philippine pesos (US$511 million) from PAGCOR in 2024. Previous reports showed that the Philippines’ gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the first quarter reached 81.7 billion Philippine pesos (US$1.4 billion), an increase of 18.5% from 68.92 billion Philippine pesos (US$1.18 billion) in the same period last year.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the video game industry continues to set records, generating revenue of Php22.5 billion ($385 million), up from Php3.5 billion ($59.8 million) in the first quarter of 2023 More than six times.
PAGCOR expects its gross gaming revenue to reach Php 336.38 billion (US$5.9 billion) in 2024, an increase of 17.9% to Php 51.11 billion (US$906.3 million) compared to Php285.27 billion (US$5.0 billion) in 2023 ).
Forecasts for PAGCOR-operated casinos point to strong performance, with gaming revenue expected to reach Php 81.27 billion ($1.4 billion) by the end of the year, up 2.39% or Php 1.9 billion from Php 79.37 billion ($1.4 billion) in 2023 pesos ($33.6 million).
