Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR reported income from gaming operations of just under Php30 billion (US$624 million) for FY2020, down 60.4% on the Php75.76 billion (US$1.58 billion) in income it earned in 2019.
The decline followed the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide – particularly in the capital city of Manila where casinos were shuttered in mid-March and only granted permission to reopen at a maximum 30% capacity in late August.
According to PAGCOR’s statement of comprehensive income published Friday, profit fell by 83.8% in 2020 to Php1.57 billion (US$32.7 million) compared with profit of almost Php10 billion (US$201 million) in 2019.
However, the second half of the year at least pushed the regulator back into the black, having previously reported a loss of Php1.60 billion (US$32.5 million) for the first six months of 2020. PAGCOR had suffered a loss of Php2.38 billion (US$48.4 million) in Q2 alone.
Based on third quarter figures published in October, PAGCOR produced income from gaming operations in 4Q20 of Php7.67 billion (US$159.6 million) with profit of Php1.43 billion (US$29.7 million).
For the full year, income from licensed casinos – those not operated by PAGCOR – totaled Php11.52 billion (US$239.7 million) while POGOs contributed Php4.66 billion (US$96.9 million).
