The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has deferred the Minimum Guaranteed Fee (MGF) for Gaming System Administrators (GSAs) by two months, or until June 1st.
According to a memorandum from March 30th, PAGCOR’s Board of Directors approved the deferment after its meeting on March 26th, citing ‘the current economic crisis’.
Under the amended schedule, the first tranche will sees the MGF imposed between June 1st and December 31st of this year. This targets GSAs with Electronic Casino Games with minimum monthly gross gaming revenue (GGR) of PHP30 million ($500K) and PHP15 million ($250K), which are to be subject to an MGF of PHP9 million ($150K) and PHP3 million ($50K), respectively.
The second tranche will be applied from January 1st, 2027 onwards. This focuses on GSAs with Electronic Casino Games with minimum monthly GGR of PHP35 million ($580K) and PHP20 million ($332K), with MGF values of PHP10.5 million ($175K) and PHP4 million ($66.5K), respectively.
PAGCOR indicates that, prior to the expiration of the two-month deferment period, its Electronic Gaming Licensing Department ‘shall conduct a comprehensive evaluation of prevailing industry conditions to determine whether to proceed with, further adjust, or lift the deferment of the MGF implementation, consistent with the objectives of long-term sector sustainability’.
The deferment notice also serves as a ‘reply to all requests for extension received in connection with the implementation of MGF’.
PAGCOR had announced in mid-December that all licensed gaming system administrators (GSAs) would have to pay a fixed monthly fee starting from April (before the deferment), regardless of actual revenues.
The memorandum, issued December 15th by PAGCOR’s Electronic Gaming Licensing Division, applies to all 65 licensed GSAs. Arden Consult previously indicated that, according to Industry data it analyzed, only 25 operators met or exceeded the PHP30 million monthly gross gaming revenue threshold that would naturally cover the minimum fee for e-casino operations.
