The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) is looking forward to significant changes in the way the gaming industry is led in the Philippines. As Alejandro Tengco, a chairman and chief executive of the regulator claims, Pagcor will reduce its revenue share.
The reduction of share to regulate the market:
The revenue share that Pagcor earns is deducted from the online casinos available in the Philippines, and the reduction is one of the ways to make the market and casinos themselves more competitive. On the other hand, it’s a significant step towards minimizing illegal gambling operations in the country, which is a huge issue in the Philippines.
Tengco claims he wants to reduce the share between 30% and 32%. To compare, it used to be 50% before the regulator decided it was time for a change. Pagcor hopes that the whole process will be finished by next year.
As GGRAsia reports, Tengco said: “It’s now at 42.5 percent and I’m going to bring it to 37.5 per cent by March [this year],” Mr Tengco was quoted as saying, flagging that there would be further reductions in the near future. I just want to kill illegal gaming. [This] proliferated because Pagcor charged [the licensees] so much.”
The research about the illegal casinos in the Philippines was conducted, and the media outlet revealed disappointing results – Tengco claims that the agency loses about PHP 1 billion (US$17.8 million) every month because of illegal online casinos that don’t have the country’s license. On top of that, the number of illegal casinos, and the legal ones are under huge pressure.
According to Tengco, six casinos used to close their operations in the Philippines every month on average. However, after Pagcor reduced its revenue share to 42.5%, that number decreased to one or two casinos per month.
Revenue expectations:
However, the gaming industry in the Philippines is thriving. Pagcor expects the annual gross gaming revenue (GGR) for 2024 to reach PHP336.38 billion, and that amount would be included in the non-casino operations.
It is expected that the licensed commercial casinos will take the lead in contributing to the revenue, but it is also estimated that electronic gaming will be a huge contributor to the overall revenue with an estimated revenue of PHP61.75 billion in 2024.
On top of that, Pagcor is working hard on launching its own online casino brand, which will surely increase the revenue in the country. The casinofilipino.com, the new brand, will be launched in the second half of 2024.