PAGCOR reduces Philippines’ E-Games fees to 30%

Jenny Ortiz January 20, 2025

SiGMA news

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has another reduction in fee rates for Electronic Games (E-Games). Effective 1 January 2025, the rate will decrease from 35 percent to 30 percent, a move designed to address illegal gaming operations and create a more favourable environment for licensed operators.

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco explained that for E-Games operated by integrated resorts (IR), the rates would be further reduced to 25 percent, reflecting the additional overhead costs faced by physical gaming establishments. “By lowering our share rates, PAGCOR is creating a more favourable regulatory environment by encouraging unregistered online gaming operators to transition to the legal market,” Tengco said.

Driving growth and preventing closures

The fee reductions aim to provide operators with more resources to invest in marketing while also preventing closures in the sector. According to Tengco, these changes have already enabled the E-Games sector to exceed its PHP100 billion (€1.65 billion) gross gaming revenue (GGR) target for 2024 by September.

Previously, PAGCOR collected over 50 percent of GGR from licensees, a high rate that discouraged expansion within the industry. Since initiating the reductions in 2023, the regulator has seen a steady increase in the number of licensed operators.

Surge in licensed operators

The number of licences issued by PAGCOR rose by 13.57 percent in 2024, reaching 1,188, compared to 1,046 in 2023. Similarly, the number of accredited gaming service providers increased five-fold, from 49 in 2023 to 174 in 2024. Tengco attributed these increases to the more competitive share rates. “The gradual reduction of share rates has significantly contributed to the growth of the E-Games sector, which has become a key driver of the local gaming industry,” he said.

Tengco added that the new policy has encouraged many operators from the grey market to secure PAGCOR licences. “We expect this trend to continue, and we are optimistic that the best is yet to come for the country’s E-Games sector,” Tengco said.

E-Games fuel PAGCOR revenue growth

In the third quarter of 2024, PAGCOR said the Philippines’ GGR rose by 37.52 percent year-on-year to PHP94.61 billion (€1.6 billion), with electronic gaming driving much of the increase. E-Games revenue reached PHP35.71 billion (€591.9 million), up from PHP6.32 billion (€104.8 million) in the same period in 2023.

Challenges in other segments

While E-Games flourished, other segments faced declines in the third quarter of 2024. Revenue from licensed casinos in September 2024 dropped by 2.27 percent to PHP50.72 billion (€840.8 million), and Casino Filipino gaming revenue fell by 26.32 percent to PHP3.64 billion (€60.3 million). Bingo GGR also decreased, down 19.43 percent to PHP4.52 billion.

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