The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has reported a 26 percent year-on-year rise in its expenses for the first half of 2024, according to its latest financial statement.
For the six months ending June 30, 2024, PAGCOR’s total expenses reached PHP15.64 billion ($266.60 million), a 26 percent increase from the same period last year when expenses were PHP12.3 billion ($220.88 million).
The actual spending also surpassed the gaming regulator/operator’s target expenses by 20 percent, a recent financial dispatch shows.
Personnel services expenses significantly contributed to the overall expense increase, rising 28 percent to some PHP7 billion ($119.3 million). Maintenance and other operating expenses also experienced a substantial 52.5 percent rise to PHP5.3 billion ($90.4 million), reflecting various operational costs that escalated over the year.
Despite the rise in expenses, PAGCOR’s total income significantly increased. For the first half of 2024, PAGCOR reported total income of PHP51.76 billion ($882.31 million), up 42.92 percent from the PHP36.22 billion ($617.36 million) reported in the same period last year.
This increase in income helped to offset the rising expenses, resulting in a net income of PHP6.57 billion ($111.94 million), a sizeable 192.23 percent increase from the net income of PHP2.25 billion ($38.34 million) in 1H23.
Gaming operations remain the primary revenue driver for PAGCOR, accounting for PHP22.29 billion ($386.7 million) in 1Q24 revenues.
Within this segment, the E-Games sector contributed PHP9.69 billion ($168.1 million), while licensed casinos brought in PHP8.04 billion ($139.4 million).
The first half of 2024 has been marked by significant financial activity for PAGCOR, with substantial increases in both income and expenses.
The corporation’s ability to boost its income while managing rising operational costs will be crucial as it navigates the challenges and opportunities in the gaming sector for the remainder of the year.
President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. ordered a ban on all POGOs during his third State of the Nation Address on the 22nd of July.
PAGCOR’s Chairman Alejandro H. Tengco recently highlighted that the government stood to lose PHP40 billion ($686.55 million) in taxes and fees if the ban were to come into effect.
Tengco furthered that PAGCOR brought in some PHP56 billion ($961.2 million) in gross gaming revenue from the online sector last year.
In the first half of this year, some PHP17.5 billion ($300.38 million) was brought in by PAGCOR from online operators, estimated to swell to PHP42 billion ($720.92 million) for the full year due to license fee collections.