The gaming industry’s strong performance in 2022 boosted the revenues of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), rising by more than half compared to the previous year.
Pagcor racked up P58.96 billion in revenues last year, up 66.16 percent from the P35.48 billion recorded in 2021. This was largely due to opening of the country’s borders to local and foreign tourists.
Income from gaming operations accounted for the bulk of Pagcor’s revenues at P55.05 billion, representing a 68.7 percent jump from the P32.63registered a year earlier.
“Since the lockdowns were eased in the country last year and gaming venues reopened, customer confidence slowly returned and the attendance in our owned casinos slowly improved. Our licensed casinos likewise recorded a major revenue growth,” Pagcor chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said.
Tengco is optimistic that the gaming industry will continue its growth momentum in the coming years.
“Looking at PAGCOR’s upward revenue trend since the first quarter of 2022 up to the end of the year, as well as the recovery path of other gaming hubs in Asia like Singapore and Macau, we are confident that the Philippine gaming sector will be able to fully recover, or even surpass its pre-pandemic earnings soon,” he said.
With the significantly higher revenues, Pagcor’s contribution to nation-building surged 51.3 percent from P22.91 billion in 2021.
Of the amount, P26.15 billion went to the National Treasury as 50 percent government share.