PAGCOR Revenue Slips on Online Gaming Slowdown

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) saw a 26.6-percent decline in revenues in the first half, driven by weaker earnings from gaming operations, particularly the online gambling segment. The regulator said it posted total revenues of P43.32 billion from January to June, down from P59.05 billion in the same period last year. Broken down, revenues from gaming operations, which remained the corporation’s primary revenue source, slipped by 27 percent to P38.92 billion. PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco attributed the decline to softer revenues from electronic gaming. Earnings from eGames, eBingo and bingo grantees plunged by almost 42 percent to P18.6 billion from P32 billion in the first half of 2025. The licensed casinos and government-operated casinos segment reported declines of 3.9 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively. Tengco earlier said electronic gambling bettors, largely from lower-income brackets, have been hit hardest by inflation tied to the Middle East crisis, diverting spending to essentials over wagers. “Our first-half revenue results reflect the continuing impact of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East which dampened consumer spending during the first quarter and affected overall industry performance,” he said. Despite improving market conditions in the second quarter, Tengco said uncertainties remain, particularly with the recent uptick in global fuel prices. “Nevertheless, we remain focused on strengthening industry performance through sound regulation and close collaboration with our stakeholders to ensure that the gaming sector continues to generate meaningful revenues for nation-building,” he added. Net operating income declined by 35.1 percent to P31.75 billion in the first semester while net income fell by 85.3 percent to P1.58 billion. “The steeper decline in net income was due to PAGCOR’s higher mandated remittances to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) following the Supreme Court’s ruling requiring the state gaming agency to remit five percent of its gross income to the PSC, instead of the previously adopted computation,” Tengco said. From January to June, PAGCOR remitted P2.01 billion to the PSC, up by nearly 59 percent from P1.26 billion in the same period last year. Despite the slump in revenues, the regulator said it poured P30.16 billion into nation-building during the first six months of 2026. Information Source: Philstar Business