REDUCED RATES. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation chair and CEO Alejandro Tengco says they will further reduce license fees starting Jan. 1, 2025. In his speech during the Inside Asian Gaming Academy Summit in Hilton Manila, Pasay City on Tuesday (Sept. 10, 2024), he said the move aims to lure more investments to the Philippines. (PNA photo by Anna Leah Gonzales)
MANILA – The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) will further reduce the gross gaming revenue (GGR) remittance rate for online and on-site betting platforms by 2025 to further attract investments.
License fees will also go down to 30 percent for brick-and-mortar licenses and to 25 percent for integrated resorts who are also involved in online gaming, PAGCOR chair and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said.
"By lowering our license fees, to be at par with the global industry standards, we hope to attract and keep more investors in place," Tengco said in his speech during the Inside Asian Gaming Academy Summit held at Hilton Manila in Pasay City on Tuesday.
Tengco said lower fees will help encourage and curb illegal online gaming operations.
"The observation I made upon my assumption in the office was that the grey market or the underground market was doing so well, way, way better than PAGCOR. And licensees were closing shops, primarily because they could not compete anymore with the grey market," he said in a separate interview on the sidelines of the summit.
Earlier this year, the GGR remittance rate was already reduced to around 35 percent from 55 percent.
Tengco said the reduction encouraged those operating illegally to secure their licenses from PAGCOR.
Gaming revenue
Tengco, meanwhile, said PAGCOR is on track to achieve the PHP335-billion industry GGR target by the end of the year following the sustained growth of the local gaming industry.
In the first quarter of the year, the industry GGR amounted to PHP82 billion, up by 20 percent compared to last year.
Tengco said the industry GGR also went up by 32 percent to PHP90 billion in the second quarter of the year.
According to Tengco, the licensed casino sector including those from the Entertainment City in Parañaque City, Clark in Pampanga, Cebu, and the Fiesta casinos in Rizal province and Boracay Island, and will contribute as much as PHP257 billion to the gross gain revenues in 2024.
He said PAGCOR expects the continuing growth of the electronic games sector to boost the overall performance of the Philippine gaming industry in the coming years.
"The e-games sector growth is driven mainly by the rapid technological advances, the increasing availability and affordability of mobile gadgets and devices, and a fast-evolving consumer behavior that is more and more becoming technology-driven," Tengco said.
"By year-end, we project that this sector will generate close to PHP100 billion in GGR on its way to becoming the fastest-growing segment in PAGCOR in the next few years," he added.
The entry and operation of more integrated resort casinos will help sustain the growth of the Philippine gaming industry, according to Tengco.
"Looking further into the future, we see more industry players investing in the Philippines, as they recognize the country's unique selling point as a prime tourism and entertainment destination in this part of the world," he said.
Tengco said that by 2025, another integrated resort casino will be launched in the Entertainment City area, as well as other potential projects in Cebu and Boracay by 2026.
He added that the economic zone in Central Luzon is also on the radar for a new integrated resort in 2027, followed by another Solaire property resort sometime in 2028.
The new Solaire property will be located in southern Luzon.
"While these expansions are expected to further increase our gross gaming revenues, they will also create a multiplier effect across various industries, providing more job opportunities, boosting tourism, and encouraging more foreign investments," he said. (PNA)
