Pagcor reports record earnings increase despite potential portfolio sale

The Philippine gaming regulator, which also operates a series of state owned casinos, added income from gaming operators increased 18.7 per-cent to $937 for the period, 9.3 percent higher than was originally predicted.

Expenditure included $178m in corporate social responsibility payments, and $38m earmarked for social development such as the national endowment for culture and the arts.

Though Pagcor has mooted the sale of its Casino Filipino portfolio since early 2017, the recent figures will undoubtedly convince the regulator to retain operation.

“With the Pagcor owned and operated casinos, the GGR they yield goes directly to the government, 100 percent,” said Pagcor chairwoman Andrea Domingo.

“With the IRs, our share of the GGR is about 19.5 percent so if you look into that and the contribution to the national government every year, if you take this out it will take five years for a new IR to contribute that amount which automatically lessens our net contribution to the national government by $417m for at least for the next 10 years.”