PAGCOR blames COVID-19 restrictions for uncollected funds

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) attributed the majority of the billion worth of uncollected funds to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that most operators were unable to restart operations due to the lockdowns.

In an emailed statement on Monday, PAGCOR clarified the P2.328-billion worth of outstanding accounts receivables flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) in its recent report.

“Out of the P2.328 billion, the P815.902 million indicated in the report as under protest has already been resolved with finality,” the gaming regulator said.

PAGCOR said the amount came from its fight against illegal online gambling, leading it to impose assumed or estimated billings for suspected undeclared websites.

“After thorough revalidation, no link between the suspected undeclared websites and concerned POGOs were established. In fact, the undeclared sites were actually websites of illegal operators stealing the live stream of our licenses,” it said.

State auditors earlier noted that the P815.902 million is under protest, while P1.512 billion remain uncollected noting that this has been a “persistent” issue for several year

PAGCOR said, however, that the majority of the uncollected funds is attributable to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It must be recalled that on March 21, 2020, all POGO gaming operations in the country were ordered shut down by the government in view of the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine,” it said.

“On June 2020, despite being allowed to resume operations, majority of our operators were still unable to resume operations due to existing lockdowns, restrictions in business operations, prohibition on entry of foreign workers, and other pandemic measures,” it continued.

The agency also noted that it continued to impose the minimum guaranteed fee for operators who do not meet their monthly target revenues in April and May 2020.

“Nevertheless, despite such remedial measures, most POGOs were no longer able to reopen since the start of the pandemic, which consequently resulted in the accrual of uncollected bills,” it explained.

PAGCOR chairperson and chief executive officer Andrea Domingo in April said it expects to double its gross gaming revenues this year following the easing of the pandemic restrictions. — RSJ, GMA News