MANILA, Philippines — Gaming regulators expect revenue from the country’s offshore gaming industry to climb to P20 billion by the end of this year.
In a speech at the opening of the Philippine Asian Gaming Expo (PAGE) on Friday, PAGCOR chairperson and CEO Andrea Domingo said that from 2016 to 2018, PAGCOR already raked in P11.9 billion from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
“From 2016 to 2018, we have already gotten P11.9 billion in revenues from POGOs. This year we want to collect P8 billion. So that‘s P20 billion in a span of three and a half years,” she said.
In contrast, she said that before PAGCOR took over the regulation of POGOs, the industry was giving only P56 million a year to the national government.
“But because it is a very, very new product for us, we had a hard time fully understanding what the operator is and what the service providers are and how we can have an audit platform that will be independent and will assure us that the government is collecting the proper revenues. So that’s what we have done,” Domingo said.
She said PAGCOR has been making enough rules and regulations to attract those that will otherwise be declared as illegally operating, to go into the fold of the law and operate legally.
PAGCOR she said, has been able to weed out illegal players and that its rules have encouraged some of those entities to go legal.
“We are no longer the illegal gambling capital of the world. Now everybody is looking at the Philippines as somebody who has actually done a very good intervention in the offshore gaming sector of our industry and are now looking into our models,” she said.
There are roughly 60 licensed POGOs in the country. PAGCOR charges application and processing fees of $50,000 for e-casino and $40,000 for sports betting and another $200,000 and $150,000, respectively upon approval of the license. There is also a cash bond of $250,000.
Moving forward, PAGCOR will also be licensing POGO hubs or self-contained POGO districts.
“We also are making business more comfortable and easier for the operators by now licensing POGO hubs. Those who will locate there will have a license that is good for five years. Those outside the hubs, the license are good for three years, so they have a choice,” she said.
Domingo believes that PAGCOR has made significant headway in regulating an industry that is fast changing.
“We have to learn more and more and more, because gaming, just like the technology it uses, keeps on going forward every day and every week and every day we have to look into our manuals. But all in all, I think that we are progressing,” Domingo said.