THE local gaming industry's gross gaming revenues (GGR) went up by 37.52 percent to P94.61 billion in the third quarter of the year, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) said.
In a statement Thursday, PAGCOR said the GGR in the same period last year reached P68.79 billion.
The growth was driven mainly by the electronic gaming sector which increased more than five-fold, generating P35.71 billion in revenues from last year’s P6.32 billion.
“The electronic gaming sector recorded a phenomenal increase of 464.38 percent from last year,” PAGCOR chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said.
“This impressive performance is a strong indication that the use of modern technology and mobile gadgets in gaming and amusement will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of gaming."
Tengco is optimistic that the e-games sector will continue to grow, as technology increasingly becomes an integral part of people’s lifestyles, including in shopping, gaming and entertainment.
“In fact, by year-end, we expect this sector to generate as much as P78 billion in license fees alone, substantially contributing to the realization of our P100 billion revenue target for 2024,” he added.
The country’s licensed casinos, which remained the biggest contributor to the third quarter GGR, brought in P50.72 billion, lower than the P51.90 billion recorded last year.
Revenues of Casino Filipino gaming venues operated by PAGCOR amounted to P3.64 billion, also down from the 2023 record of P4.94 billion.
Bingo operations, meanwhile, contributed P4.52 billion to the GGR, 19.43 percent lower than the 2023 third quarter revenue of P5.61 billion. PNA