PAGCOR reports strong performance in FY 2016

With Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte’s clampdown on illegal gambling now in full swing in the Philippines, the national regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) released its FY 2016 performance figures this week, reporting that GGR from its licensing, fees and other activities rose 17 percent to P55 billion (US$1.1 billion).

Chairman Andrea Domingo boasted in a statement Wednesday:

“Not only were we able to maintain our revenues, but we were actually able to improve.”

She added that Pagcor received a little help from the Supreme Court, which ruled last year that the Bureau of Internal Revenue should not collect income taxes from the regulator and its licensees.

“Even without this extraordinary income, Pagcor would have still improved revenues in 2016 by about P4.5 billion,” she noted, adding that the position this year looks even more promising following the president’s decision to allow Pagcor to issue new Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) licenses.

“We have granted 35 POGO licenses to local operators, but we have many expressions of interest from abroad,” Domingo said.