PAGCOR Expecting up to ₱65 Million Gross Gaming Revenue for 2022 Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Chair and Chief Executive Officer Andrea D. Domingo says that state-owned PAGCOR has already reached about ₱17 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) from the start of 2022 to April, and is right on track to hit their target revenue goal.

In a forum called Kapihan sa Manila bay, Domingo states, “We’ll have two months more until I end my term and I think that we should be hitting anywhere from ₱35 to ₱30 billion by June.” Domingo also recalls that although they had a challenging start with the surge of COVID-19 cases when stricter quarantine protocols were enforced, halting casino operations. Despite this, PAGCOR is now hitting its gross gaming revenue (GGR) goal.

The state-owned gaming corporation has also been able to give advanced remittances of ₱6 billion to the Bureau of the Treasury. “The president no longer asked us for any socioeconomic projects funds for this year, because he said that we should just give it all to the national treasury, which is what we did,” Domingo states. Domingo also says PAGCOR has made its remittances in response to a request for support made by the Department of Finance which will fund social expenditures concerning the mitigation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict’s impact on vulnerable sectors. In 2021, PAGCOR was able to remit to the Bureau of the Treasury a total of P5 billion in cash dividends and advances, for the dividend year 2020.

Domingo expresses her confidence in doubling PAGCOR’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) this 2022 with the country’s improved economic environment despite the pandemic, stating, “It would be possible that by the end of the year, PAGCOR would have about P60 to P65 billion a year GGR which is almost twice as much as last year’s.”

Source: Manila Bulletin