The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has reported a 25 percent increase in gross gaming revenue in the first half of 2024, reaching a total P170.93 billion. The surge in gaming revenue was traced to significant growth in betting activities on electronic games, which more than compensated for declines in casino and bingo revenue.
Gross gaming revenue, or GGR, is a key metric in gambling operations referring to total bets minus the winnings of bettors.
Total GGR from electronic games, which include sports betting, soared to P53.36 billion, a fivefold increase from only P8.45 billion in the same period last year. In the second quarter alone, GGR from e-games rocketed to P30.85 billion compared with the P4.94 billion posted in the same quarter of 2023.
In contrast, PAGCOR-operated casinos experienced a 12 percent drop in GGR to P8.89 billion.
Licensed casinos also reported declines, with their GGR falling 6.3 percent to P99.17 billion. Bingo operations also experienced a contraction of 21 percent year-on-year in GGR to P9.51 billion in the first half this year.
PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the e-games sector continues to exceed expectations and expected to help mitigate revenue shortfalls resulting from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to ban offshore gaming operations, or POGOs, by the end of the year.
However, it remains to be seen whether the growth in e-games prove sufficient to absorb the tens of thousands of jobs likely lost with the cessation of POGO operations. It is also unclear how substantial the POGO ban is on the real estate market, especially on landlords of these gaming ventures.
