Alejandro Tengco, president and chief executive of the Philippine gaming regulator, said the Philippine gaming regulator is set to cut licensing fees for “online and on-site betting platforms” through April 1.

Mr Tengco, head of the Philippine Entertainment Gaming Company (Pagcor), said on Tuesday that licensing fees, part of the revenue, would be cut to 35% by next month, “about 5% lower than they are now.”

Mr. Tengco was speaking in Manila at the ASEAN Games Summit, a casino industry trade event.

Starting in April, operators of betting platforms in the Philippines will “transfer an average rate of 35%,” Pagcor’s head said.

He described the move as “quite significant” for the industry. “When I took office in the second half of 2022, the typical licensing fee was over 50% at the time,” he added.

“We have gradually reduced our rates to be on par with global industrial standards through April,” Pagcor observed. “This should encourage even those currently operating illegally to consider securing a license, which in turn will further increase our licensing and regulatory revenues.”

Mr. Tengco also said that electronically offered games – e-casino, e-bingo, and online sports betting – are likely to remain the “fastest growing” segment of the Philippine gaming industry. Nevertheless, traditional formats through licensed commercial sector casinos will continue to take the lead.

Pagcor’s representative previously said gross gaming revenue (GGR), including non-casino operations, is likely to be PHP 336.38 billion ($6.03 billion) in 2024.

On Tuesday, he noted that the U.S. GGR for 2023 reached $285.3 billion in PHP, “a record compared to the pre-pandemic period.”

“We expect gaming revenue to continue to grow this year and beyond, with growing demand for leisure travel and entertainment from domestic and international tourists,” Mr. Tengco said. Official data for 2023 is yet to be released.

According to Chairman Pagcor, Metro Manila’s Entertainment City casino and commercial venues and Porpo Point in Clark, Cebu, and Rizal “will contribute as much as PHP 257 billion to our GGR in 2024.”

The electronically offered games are expected to “contribute PHP 61.75 billion” to GGR in 2024, he added.

Mr Tengko said the growth of the Philippine gaming industry was pegged to three key factors: “Entering and operating more integrated resorts in the Philippines, strong performance in the electronic gaming sector, and profits from the planned privatization of casinos run by Pagcor.”

The agency’s privatisation of casino Philippine venues will begin “at the end of 2025 to early 2026,” Pagcor said.

“We need to focus on regulatory roles through privatisation, because this will help level the playing field and at the same time boost the industry,” Mr Tengco said.

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