Tue | 02.04.2020 | 09:30 AM

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) once again took a notable leap in its performance after the agency recorded P75.75 billion gaming revenues in 2019 – an 11.65% increase from its 2018 figures of P67.85 billion.

The amount likewise exceeded the agency’s 2019 target by 1.80% or P1.33 billion.

In 2018, PAGCOR recorded P104.12 billion in total revenues. However, of this amount, P36.27 billion came from other income including the sale of PAGCOR’s land (P32.71 billion) in Entertainment City to Sureste Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Bloomberry Resorts Corporation. The remaining P67.85 billion was the agency’s 2018 income from gaming operations.

If the non-regular revenues of P32.71 billion (sale of PAGCOR’s land in 2018) will be excluded, PAGCOR still posted a growth of 11.22% in 2019.

Among the biggest sources of PAGCOR’s gaming revenues are the slot machine operations, electronic bingo, table games operations, regulatory fees from the Philippine offshore gaming operations and fees from licensed casinos.

Because of the state-gaming firm’s buoyant performance in 2019, it was able to remit over P56 billion to the government through its mandated contributions and other corporate social responsibility programs.

The lion’s share of this remittance – P35.92 billion – went to the National Treasury through the 50% government share, followed by the 5% franchise tax of P3.78 billion.

PAGCOR’s other notable contributions to the government were its P1.79 billion remittance to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Dangerous Drugs Board (P60 million), and the Board of Claims (P118.91 million), an agency under the Department of Justice which grants compensation to victims of unjust imprisonment and victims of violent crimes.

The state-run gaming firm also remitted P123.30 million cash incentives to national athletes and coaches who won in international sporting events by virtue of Republic Act 10699. Likewise, cities hosting PAGCOR-operated casinos nationwide received host cities’ share, which totaled to P445.72 million.

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