The Philippine gaming market could post a weaker 2026 after online payment limits, lower consumer spending, and Middle East linked economic pressure hit e gaming demand. Pagcor now expects a full-year total below the PHP396.14 billion posted in 2025.
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The Philippines had leaned hard on electronic gaming growth in 2025. A year later, that same segment has become the weak spot.
Alejandro Tengco, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, told reporters at SiGMA Asia Summit 2026 in Manila that gross gaming revenue could end 2026 at PHP320 billion to PHP350 billion. Against the PHP396.14 billion recorded in 2025, that would mean a decline of about 11.6% to 19.2%. BusinessWorld first reported the updated outlook. Tengco said:
“Personally, I believe that it will be a lower GGR compared to 2025. Probably we are looking at maybe PHP320 billion to PHP350 billion.”
The pressure already showed in the first quarter. Official Pagcor data put Philippine gaming GGR at PHP87.6 billion, down 15.87% year-on-year. Licensed casinos generated PHP44.52 billion, or 50.83% of total GGR, while electronic gaming produced PHP39.90 billion, equal to 45.55% of the market.
That split is relevant now because online and electronic gaming had previously overtaken land-based casinos as the main revenue source. After the latest drop, casinos moved back ahead.
Pagcor linked the softer quarter to weaker discretionary spending, Middle East tensions, and inflation. Tengco also pointed to the rule requiring online gambling platforms to delink from e-wallets. That payment change reduced friction for regulators, but added friction for players. He said:
“But I think it is primarily because of the Middle East crisis.”
Lower-middle-income players appear to be pulling back first. Tengco said many consumers who previously helped drive online gaming demand now face higher living costs and have shifted spending toward essentials.
Ser Percival Peña-Reyes, senior research fellow at the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, told BusinessWorld that inflation, weaker consumer confidence, and slower growth could keep Philippine gaming revenue under pressure. He said:
“The electronic gaming segment, which was previously the main growth driver, contracted considerably in the first quarter, indicating that even digitally driven demand is becoming sensitive to macroeconomic stress.”
The reversal is sharp because 2025 still ended with growth. Pagcor reported PHP396.14 billion in 2025 GGR, up 6.39% from PHP372.33 billion in 2024, with online and electronic platforms offsetting weaker brick-and-mortar casino revenue.