Casino Privatization Could Slash Healthcare Funds by P2.1B Annually, Legal Experts Warn

MANILA, Philippines — Funding for the country’s Universal Health Care (UHC) program could be slashed by up to P2.1 billion annually under the planned privatization of Casino Filipino, according to a commentary by legal outfit Geronimo Law. The law firm said the sale of the casino operations of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) could reduce the dedicated funding stream for UHC by about P1.7 billion to P2.1 billion a year, based on Casino Filipino’s 2024 and 2025 gaming revenues. READ: Pagcor remits P5.67B from 2025 earnings to Treasury Under the Universal Health Care Act, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) receives 50 percent of the national government’s share of Pagcor’s income to help fund the country’s healthcare program. Based on Casino Filipino’s gaming revenues, the UHC program received about P3.02 billion in 2024 and P2.47 billion in 2025. But Pagcor has long been planning to transition into a purely regulatory body by selling Casino Filipino’s roughly 40 branches to private operators, a move which is expected to generate P30 billion to P50 billion in proceeds. Once the decoupling process is completed, Pagcor will only collect license fees from casino operators instead of directly earning gaming revenues. “For UHC to be made whole through license fees alone, privatized branches would have to more than triple their gross gaming revenues (GGR),” Geronimo Law said. READ: Philippine gross gaming revenues up 6% in 2025, driven by online platforms Notably, the local gaming industry’s GGR already declined by nearly 16 percent to P87.6 billion in the first quarter amid oil shocks from the Middle East war. Second quarter figures, according to Pagcor, also remained subdued. “The P30 billion to P50 billion purchase price will not go to UHC,” Geronimo Law said. The share of UHC is linked to gross earnings from the franchise or gaming earnings. “Proceeds from the disposal of branch assets and licenses are not franchise gaming earnings and thus never enter the base on which the UHC share is based,” the law firm added. The Governance Commission for Government-owned and -controlled corporations, which is reviewing Pagcor’s decoupling proposal, is expected to submit its recommendation to the Office of the President in August. INQ