THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has lowered the fee rate for electronic games (E-Games) anew to 30 percent to encourage illegal online gaming operators to register with the government.
In a statement Monday, PAGCOR said it cut fee rates of e-gaming starting Jan. 1, 2025, reducing the rate from 35 percent last year.
PAGCOR chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said the fee rate of e-games operated by integrated resorts was also slashed to 25 percent to compensate for the overhead expenses of brick-and-mortar operators.
“By lowering our share rates, PAGCOR is creating a more favorable regulatory environment by encouraging unregistered online gaming operators to transition to the legal market,” Tengco said.
PAGCOR collects fees based on a fixed percentage of the licensees’ gross gaming revenues (GGR).
Prior to the gradual reduction in fee rates, PAGCOR was collecting as high as 50 percent of GGR before it was lowered to 35 percent in April 2024.
The rate reduction last year allowed the e-games sector to hit its P100 billion full year target in 2024 as early as September.
“The gradual reduction of share rates has significantly contributed to the growth of the e-games sector, which has become a key driver of the local gaming industry,” Tengco said.
In 2024, accredited gaming service providers also surged to 174 from 49 in 2023.
“We expect this trend to continue, and we are optimistic that the best is yet to come for the country’s e-games sector,” Tengco added.
PAGCOR closed 2024 registering 1,188 onsite and online gaming operators, 14 percent higher than the 1,046 licenses in 2023. PNA