PAGCOR income falls as e-wallet delinking cuts online gaming activity

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) expects a double-digit decrease in its total income this year, as the delinking of e-wallets from online gambling sites drove down gaming activity by as much as 40%.

According to PAGCOR Assistant Vice President Maria Cheryl De Guia, the firm expects total income to fall to P86.948 billion this year from P106.031 billion in 2025. This is then expected to increase to P88.838 billion in 2027.

PAGCOR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Tengco attributed the drop to a central bank order to disconnect e-wallets from online gaming platforms.

“After that was implemented, we experienced a downtrend of around 40% in gaming activities dahil hindi na po kasing dali nung [because it is not as easy] compared to before nung naka-link siya, halos automatic, it is being deducted from your account if you are playing online,” he said during a congressional hearing on Monday.

“Because of the delinking, you have to go through another process, so that contributed to a 40% decline,” he added.

Tengco said the lower projection for 2026 is also due to the impact of the Middle East conflict on the market, primarily the C, D, and E segments, but there are already signs of recovery.

“That market was the one that was truly affected by the Middle East crisis. For the month of July, we saw an increase in gaming activity of about 10% and in August, still at that same level,” he said.

“Hopefully, as economic conditions improve, we will have better revenue coming from online gaming,” he added.

For land-based gaming, Tengco said casinos and integrated resorts have posted weak revenues this year, but there has also been an indication of improvement.

“A good sign is there is now an uptick in the number of tourists who are patronizing these integrated resorts, so we have seen a slight upward trend towards the end of July and early August,” he said.

“If the trend continues and considering that the peak season for gaming activities is already coming up… hopefully we’re able to recover the weak revenue in the first half towards the latter part of this year,” he added.

PAGCOR reported a 20% drop in its gross gaming revenues (GGR) to P88.13 billion in the second quarter from P110.63 billion the same quarter. Licensed casinos remained the top revenue contributor with P45.37 billion. — BM, GMA News