The second quarter of this year marked a strong period for licensed casinos in the Philippines, with reported increases in total gross gaming revenue (GGR) year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. The Philippine gambling regulator and government-owned, regulated and operated corporation, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), uncovered details regarding the GGR reported for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
The latest financial data reveals that the gambling sector in the country reported Php 89.23 billion ($1.56 billion) in total GGR for the second quarter of this year. When compared to the Php 67.43 billion ($1.18 billion) result reported for the corresponding period last year, the recent figure pointed to an increase of 32.32%.
Besides year-over-year, quarter-over-quarter comparison also pointed to strong growth. In the first quarter of this year, the total GGR reported by the gambling sector hit Php 81.70 billion ($1.43 billion). When this result is compared to the latest figure, the Q2 GGR marks an increase of 9.21%.
A breakdown of the total shows that while casino GGR marked a dip year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter, E-Games performed exceptionally well during the second quarter. Despite the decrease in GGR, licensed casinos were responsible for the lion’s share in revenue.
In total licensed casinos reported Php 49.48 billion ($869 million) in GGR. The latest result represented a decrease when compared to the first quarter’s result of Php 49.68 billion ($872.5 million). As noted, a year-over-year decrease was also observed compared to Q2 2023’s record of Php 51.70 billion ($908 million).
Alejandro H. Tengco, PAGCOR’s chairman and CEO, shared his excitement about the latest financial results. He explained that the reported Php 4.93 billion ($86.6 million) revenue from E-Games marked a staggering increase of 525% year-over-year.
Moreover, he pointed out: “This sector continues to surpass targets and should help cover up for any shortfall resulting from the President’s order banning offshore gaming operations or POGOs by the end of the year.”
“The E-Games sector recorded an impressive 525% increase from the Php4.93 billion record year-on-year.“
Alejandro H. Tengco, CEO and chairman at PAGCOR
Besides E-Games and casino gambling, PAGCOR uncovered details regarding the performance of bingo operations and its Casino Filipino brand.
In the second quarter of 2023, bingo operations reported Php 5.85 billion ($102.8 million) in revenue. However, the GGR from the latest period decreased to Php 4.69 billion ($82.4 million), a result that was also lower than the first quarter’s revenue of Php 4.81 billion ($84.5 million).
Similarly, casinos operated under the Casio Filipino brand reported Php 4.20 billion ($73.8 million) for the second quarter of this year. Compared to the corresponding period in 2023, this result marked a decrease of 14.80%.
