• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Friday 9 May 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

Sale of PAGCOR-operated casinos put on hold: Domingo

Newsdesk by Newsdesk
Wed 26 Sep 2018 at 06:18

PAGCOR chair Andrea Domingo

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The long-awaited sale of PAGCOR-operated casinos has been put on hold, according to the head of the Philippines gaming regulator.

In an exclusive interview with Inside Asian Gaming, PAGCOR chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo revealed that the government was no longer focused on selling its casino licenses anytime soon, with the solid growth of the local gaming industry proving too lucrative to give up.

“You know, [the PAGCOR casinos] are holding up quite well. Last year they contributed Php22 billion (US$405.5 million) to our Php60 billion earnings and this year we’re looking at about Php26 billion to Php27 billion,” Domingo told IAG.

Asked if that meant PAGCOR would instead continue as both an operator and a regulator, Domingo said, “I think for the next few years, because they’re still profitable – because the PAGCOR owned and operated casinos, the GGR they yield goes directly to the government, 100%.

“With the IRs, our share of the GGR is about 19.5% so if you look into that and the contribution to the national government every year, if you take this out it will take five years for a new IR to contribute that amount which automatically lessens our net contribution to the national government by Php22 billion for at least for the next 10 years.”

PAGCOR first announced in August 2016 its intention to sell its 47 casinos under order of President Rodrigo Duterte, with the goal of raising funds towards the national budget.

It later stated that the sale of its licenses would begin in 2018 and in January this year revealed it had singled out 17 individual casinos under its operation to be offered to interested parties under phase one of the sell-off.

However, Domingo told IAG that no discussions with prospective buyers have taken place.

“Actually it is prohibited for us to talk to anybody who wants to buy because of the procurement law,” she said. “The issues that are being raised about PAGCOR owning casinos as well as regulating privately owned casinos, that it’s a conflict of interest, this doesn’t actually happen because being a government office, I have to go through procurement law – which is a nightmare.

“So I think the privatization thing, there’s really nothing to sell because all of the casinos that we own and operate are in venues that are not owned by us but only leased by us.”

Domingo added that although PAGCOR-operated casinos could not compete with the scale of or revenue generated by Manila’s Entertainment City IRs, “We’re keeping our market because we have a niche in the gaming industry.

“There’s a certain cultural characteristic of the Filipinos, the ‘Suki’ mentality,” she said. “They’re so used to dealing with these people, the personalized service, the ‘hi, hello’, they know each other’s first names – those are what the IRs will never be able to take from PAGCOR.”

The full interview with Domingo will feature in the upcoming October edition of Inside Asian Gaming, available from next week.

 

RelatedPosts

Winds of change

Philippines licensed casinos no longer main GGR driver as gaming revenues fall to US$890 million in 1Q25

Wed 7 May 2025 at 16:12
Emerald Bay developer PH Resorts Group warns of going concern risk as 1Q22 losses widen

Main lender reveals plans to sell Emerald Bay site in Cebu after PH Resorts Group misses buyback deadline

Mon 5 May 2025 at 14:27
What to expect at the 2025 IAG EXPO

What to expect at the 2025 IAG EXPO

Mon 5 May 2025 at 10:52
Third time lucky? PH Resorts Group inks MOU with Philippine construction firm to finance, develop stalled Cebu resort

PH Resorts Corp says discussions with local construction firm ongoing over investment into stalled Cebu resort Emerald Bay

Sun 4 May 2025 at 06:41
Load More
Tags: Andrea DomingoPAGCORpagcor casinosPhilippines
Share19Share1
Newsdesk

Newsdesk

The IAG Newsdesk team comprises some of the most experienced journalists in the Asian gaming industry. Offering a broad range of expertise, their decades of combined know-how spans multiple countries across a variety of topics.

Current Issue

Editorial – Knife’s edge

Editorial – Knife’s edge

by Andrew W Scott and Ben Blaschke
Tue 29 Apr 2025 at 15:14

Thailand’s Entertainment Complex journey is at a critical point, with the success or failure of the initiative to be determined...

The changing face of Macau

The changing face of Macau

by Ben Blaschke
Tue 29 Apr 2025 at 15:09

Inside Asian Gaming takes a deep dive into the new, post-COVID Macau where a revenue environment that seems to be...

Born again

Born again

by Pierce Chan
Tue 29 Apr 2025 at 14:47

Premiering in September 2010 at City of Dreams, The House of Dancing Water was a visionary creation by artistic maestro...

Richard Howarth – Testing the limits

Richard Howarth – Testing the limits

by Ben Blaschke
Tue 29 Apr 2025 at 13:17

Richard Howarth, Chief Business Officer APAC for global testing laboratory GLI, discusses his career journey and his passion for fast-paced...

Evolution Asia
Aristocrat
GLI
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
Nustar
Jumbo

Related Posts

Galaxy Macau to host 2025 Annual Conference of the FIA – world motorsport’s governing body

Favorable VIP hold pushes Galaxy Entertainment Group’s 1Q25 profit to US$412 million

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 8 May 2025 at 14:03

Macau’s Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) reported total net revenue of HK$11.2 billion in the first three months of 2025, including gross gaming revenue of HK$10.9 billion (US$1.36 billion) – up 13.6% year-on-year although slightly lower than the HK$11.0 billion (US$1.38...

Solutions Showcase: Angel – Tech Minded

Baccarat side bets now contribute close to 50% of Macau baccarat revenues

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 8 May 2025 at 13:32

Baccarat side bets now contribute between 45% and 50% of Macau’s gaming revenues, representing a generational shift in player preferences thanks to the deployment of smart gaming table technology. Stakeholders told IAG that such side bets previously comprised only a...

House of Dancing Water returns to City of Dreams Macau with spectacular premiere

House of Dancing Water returns to City of Dreams Macau with spectacular premiere

by Pierce Chan
Thu 8 May 2025 at 11:11

After a five-year hiatus, City of Dreams’ epic production House of Dancing Water held its premiere on Wednesday 7 May ahead of an official opening to the public on Friday. The newly reimagined resident show is produced by Giuliano Peparini,...

Grand Korea Leisure extends casino closures until 15 February

Grand Korea Leisure’s casino revenues up to US$26 million in April

by Newsdesk
Thu 8 May 2025 at 07:03

Foreigner-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure reported casino revenue of KRW36.2 billion (US$25.9 million) in April, up 11.5% year-on-year but down 12.7% compared with March. GKL’s casino revenue comprised an 11.7 % year-on-year increase in table revenue to KRW32.9 billion...



IAG

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • English