The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) today said it booked Php79.37 billion in revenues in 2023, up 34.63% from last year’s Php58.96 billion, driven mainly by robust earnings from licensed casinos and the rising Electronic Games sector.
Gaming operations remain the main source of PAGCOR revenues with Php73.11 billion while other sources such as services, business income, gains and non-operating income contributed Php6.26 billion.
Net income was at Php6.81 billion, a 53.27% increase from the agency’s Php4.44 billion profit in 2022.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the higher earnings enabled the state gaming firm to increase its contribution to nation-building (CNB) to Php49.56 billion which is 43% higher than the Php34.67 billion CNB in the previous year.
“Our robust revenue generation in 2023 allowed us to remit more funds to the government to finance various services, including funding for the Universal Health Care program, also known as Philhealth,” the PAGCOR chief said.
Chairman Tengco said that the lion’s share of PAGCOR’s CNB amounting to Php34.72 billion has been remitted to the National Treasury. Half of the amount or Php17.36 billion will go to Philhealth to provide free health care coverage to millions of poor Filipinos.
PAGCOR also remitted Php3.65 billion to the Bureau of Internal Revenue as 5% franchise tax and another Php285.20 million for the agency’s corporate income tax.
Other recipients of PAGCOR’s 2023 earnings include the Philippine Sports Commission (Php1.73 billion) while a separate Php92.58 million was given to athletes and coaches who won in international competitions as mandated by the Sports Incentives and Benefits Act.
PAGCOR will also remit Php3.06 billion in cash dividends to the National Treasury, while local government units hosting Casino Filipino branches collectively will get Php451.72 million.
The Board of Claims under the Department of Justice will also receive Php63.12 million to compensate persons who have been wrongly imprisoned.
“With the Philippine gaming industry’s full recovery from the impact of the pandemic, we are optimistic that PAGCOR will sustain this growth momentum in the coming years,” Chairman Tengco said.
The biggest revenue drivers for PAGCOR in 2023 are the licensed casinos in the country’s integrated resorts which contributed Php33.18 billion or 45.38% of the income from gaming operations.
This was followed by the surging E-Games sector which includes e-bingos, e-games, specialty games and sports betting with Php21.66 billion or 29.62% of gaming income, while PAGCOR-run casinos chipped in Php15.12 billion or 20.68%.
Offshore gaming operations brought in Php3.15 billion or 4.31% of PAGCOR’s total gaming revenues.
Earlier, Chairman Tengco announced that the Philippine gaming industry’s gross gaming revenues in 2023 reached a record Php285.27 billion which already surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
