Pagcor earns P2.32B in first nine months

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) earned P2.32 billion in the first nine months of the year, slightly higher than its target for the same period on the back of higher gross gaming revenues and lower expenses.

The nine-month profit represented an increase of four percent or P102.81 million from the same period a year ago.  

Pagcor chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr. failed to provide how much the state gaming firm recorded in gross gaming revenues from January to September but said the figures are definitely higher than the previous year. 

He likewise expressed confidence that the agency’s gross gaming revenues  this would be higher than that of last year’s as collections in September continued to be strong.

Management was also successful in containing operating expenses at P11.04 billion, which translated to P1.15 billion in savings.

Total contributions to nation-building amounted to P16.74 billion, up 2.12 percent from the 16.4 billion remitted last year.

The biggest recipient of Pagcor’s remittances during the period was the National Treasury which got P10.59 billion.  The amount is 5.5 percent or P554.72 million higher than year ago level.

Naguiat said Pagcor is targeting to collect P8.1 billion in license fees this year.  The figure is expected to increase to P8.4 billion by next year with the expected completion of the City of Dreams Manila, a joint venture between the SM Group and Macau casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment, in November or early December this year.

Pagcor earlier slashed the license fees for casino hubs in the Entertainment City by 10 percent as a “temporary measure” to soften the impact of a Bureau of Internal Revenue ruling subjecting the state gaming regulator as well as its licensees to pay a 30-percent corporate income tax on their net income.

Pagcor licensees raised a howl over the dramatic shift in tax payments because it was made clear to foreign investors that they were exempt from paying corporate income taxes.

Among the four groups that were provisionally allowed to set up gaming  facilties in the Philippines’ version of the Las Vegas strip include port mogul Enrique Razon’s Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels, City of Dreams Manila,  Andrew Tan-led Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. and  Japanese pachinko king Kazuo Okada’s Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment.

The understanding, as far as the casino firms are concerned, was that they were only required to pay the five-percent franchise tax on their gross gaming revenue as well as 15- percent gaming revenue taxes on VIP gambling and 25 percent on mass-market gambling.

 The BIR, however, stood firm on its position, pointing out that Pagcor has been removed from the list of government-owned and controlled corporations exempted from paying corporate income tax.