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Beginning in January 2025, the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) plans to lower the cost of gaming licenses. The statement was delivered on September 10, 2024, during a gaming summit in Manila by Alejandro Tengco, the chairman and CEO of Pagcor. The goal of this decision is to support the nation’s gaming market, which brought in a whopping ₱285.27 billion ($5 billion) in 2023.
Tengco emphasized that the fee reduction will help legitimate businesses compete more effectively with the underground market. “The grey market or underground market was doing… way better than Pagcor. And licensees were closing shops, primarily because they could not compete anymore with the grey market,” Tengco noted.
In order to bring the Philippines into compliance with international norms, Pagcor plans to reduce the fees for land-based operators from 35% to 30% and for resort operators that offer igaming to 25%. This action aims to reduce illicit operations and draw in additional investors. Tengco went on to say that in order to support the legal market, Pagcor would “continue to implement rational and efficient regulatory policies.”
Pagcor lowered the gross gaming revenue (GGR) tax earlier in 2024 from 55% to 35%, which has already had a favorable effect on the sector. Tengco is still bullish, estimating that the gaming industry will reach its ₱335 billion GGR goal by the end of 2024—a 17.91% rise from the year before.
Although the gaming sector is expected to expand, the nation must contend with the loss of money from the now-banned Philippines Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs). Due to illegal activities, President Ferdinand Marcos banned POGOs in July 2024, estimated to have cost the government ₱20 billion annually in lost income.