Philippine Casino News
MANILA - Philippine integrated resort and casino Okada Manila will retrench more than 1,000 employees next month, citing severe losses triggered by the ongoing coronavirus lockdown. An important place to begin is by understanding that gambling, either online or in-person, is perfectly legal in the Philippines. At the moment, you are unable to go to casinos to play, but that is due entirely to the closure of these facilities due to the Covid-19 virus. Olongapo City, Philippines: Hotel casinos and other gaming information regarding up-to-date gambling news, Texas hold'em tourneys, slots info, pari-mutuel (dogs & horses), and more subjects. Contact information and pictures of most casinos in Olongapo City.
According to statistics managed by the Philippine gambling regulator, the only income vertical that grew in the country during the first quarter of the year was online gambling.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), this week its general revenue figures for the game. In total, during the first three months of 2020, P60b (US $ 1.2 trillion) were obtained, indicating that there were no changes compared to the same period last year.
The PAGCOR numbers look somewhat suspicious, as they don’t seem to take into account the impact of the pandemic on the local gaming industry.
Philippine land casino revenue was P53 billion, according to regulator statistics, representing a half-billion increase from the first quarter of last year. However, the 2020 revenue figure appears to have been accidentally adulterated by a double count of the P7.6 billion generated by the Philippine casino business operated by PAGCOR.
Private PAGCOR-licensed casinos located in Manila reported revenues of P33.5 billion during the first quarter of this year, below the P39.8 billion registered in 2019. This reflects the result of the closure of the gambling halls which occurred in mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak.
On the other hand, affected casinos at Clark Freeport saw their revenue increase from about P1.1 billion to P3.9 billion. Instead the two Thunderbird casinos kept their revenue numbers at P435 million. This means that the total revenue of the private casino was P37.8 billion and not the P45.4 billion indicated by PAGCOR in the subtotal corresponding to the first quarter.
To reach such a figure, the regulator must count Casino Filipino’s income twice, somewhat irregularly.
A closer look at the figures of the private casino indicates that the VIP gaming operations were the ones that performed the most, falling only 28% to P10.1 trillion. While board game revenue was flat at billion P16.6. On the other hand, revenues from electronic games had a decrease of almost 12% to billions P11.
The physical gaming sites whose clientele is mostly local reported a drop in revenue of 7.2% to approximately P7 billion.
PAGCOR’s revenues from Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) increased from P1.34 billion in the first quarter of last year to P1.8 billion in the quarter ended March 31, 2020.
These figures will most likely fall in the second quarter of this year when PAGCOR reveals its new results, as the number of POGOs authorized to resume operations after its pandemic shutdown decreased.
In the first quarter of 2020, PAGCOR’s gross revenue totaled P17.2 billion, down from P1 billion year-over-year. Because the ground gaming operations have yet to open, second quarter revenue is expected to drop dramatically.
The country’s regulator unveiled new rules on the ability of licensed sports betting operators to offer online betting related to cockfighting, in a statement released last week.
According to the statement, if “remote betting on live cockfighting is offered online or through the internet, the same shall be available only to VIP Players with Facial Verification Access, Minimum Betting Limits, and Know-Your-Customer Features”.
Source:https://calvinayre.com/2020/06/25/casino/philippine-casino-gamblingrevenue-takes-covid-19-hit/
Philippine Casino News Today
© AFP/File PAGCOR eyes gradual reopening of casinosMANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) is eyeing the resumption of casino operations this month to save the jobs of thousands of workers employed by the gaming industry and generate much-needed revenues for the government’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response.
The gaming regulator wants to reopen casinos gradually either this month or in July, Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer Andrea Domingo said on Monday.
Pagcor suspended the operations of casinos last March when the government imposed community quarantine measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Domingo said operators should follow health and safety protocols if casinos would be allowed to reopen.
“We cannot resume operations with 100 percent of our workforce. We have to observe social distancing. We need to conduct rapid testing for our employees,” she said.
Domingo said the resumption of casino operations would save 132,000 workers from being jobless and allow the government to generate revenues to fund measures against COVID-19.
“We have to maximize revenue collection because we need the money not only for COVID-19 response but also to jumpstart the economy after the health crisis is over,” she said.
Last month, casino operator Okada Manila announced that it would lay off more than 1,000 employees, citing revenue losses due to lockdown measures.
In the first quarter of the year, Pagcor’s net income dropped to P777.44 million from P1.55 billion in the same period last year.
Pagcor’s revenues from gaming operations also went down by 5.72 percent to P17.22 billion from P18.27 billion.
Philippine Casino News
Earlier, Domingo said the suspension of casino operations due to quarantine restrictions would cost the gaming regulator an estimated P6 billion in lost revenues every month.
Philippine Casino News
“We have been doing very well, but COVID-19 came and somehow we have to take three steps back. But we are going to bounce back this month or at the very latest in July,” she said.