State-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) said over the weekend its total income in the first quarter climbed 42.6 percent to P25.24 billion from a year ago.PAGCOR said the three-month earnings put the state gaming firm on track to reach the P100-billion annual income for the year, which would be a first in its 40-year history.“We are happy to announce that PAGCOR is able to sustain our growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2024 and this should help position us into achieving another record-breaking year,” PAGCOR chairman and chief executive Alejandro Tengco said.PAGCOR’s net operating income after expenses reached P18.99 billion in the first quarter, or 54.22 percent higher than the January-March 2023 figure of P12.32 billion.Gaming operations accounted for the bulk of first-quarter revenues with P22.29 billion. Of this amount, 43.46 percent or P9.69 billion came from the e-games sector (eBingo, eGames and Bingo grantees) while licensed casinos (integrated resorts) brought in P8.04 billion (36.06 percent).Revenues from PAGCOR-run casinos under the Casino Filipino brand continued to slide, earning P3.7 billion or 16.62 percent of the first-quarter total. This was down from the 20.68-percent share it contributed to PAGCOR’s revenues in 2023.Offshore gaming operations contributed P860.89 million or 3.86 percent of the first-quarter total gaming income.“As we said earlier, the e-games sector will be our major source of gaming revenues this year and in the next few years as innovation and technological integration allows the sector to offer more excitement and convenience to gamers,” Tengco said.“Our robust earnings also bode well for the government’s various socio-civic programs including funding for the Universal Healthcare Program which provides health insurance to millions of poor Filipinos through Philhealth,” he said.
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