MANILA (Reuters) – Revenue for the Philippine gambling industry could climb another 17% in 2025 on expected growth in electronic gaming and for integrated resorts, the country’s gaming regulator chief said on Wednesday, after surging to a record last year.
Gross gaming revenues could range between 450 billion Philippine pesos and 480 billion Philippine pesos ($7.8 billion to $8.3 billion) this year, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) Chairman Alejandro Tengco told reporters.
That compares with 410.5 billion pesos in 2024, an increase of 25% from the previous year. Gross gaming revenues reflect the total amount wagered by players minus their winnings.
A boost in gaming revenues could bolster the Philippine government’s public finances as Pagcor is obliged to transfer the majority of its earnings to the national treasury.
Electronic gaming could also offset losses from offshore gambling operators after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered them to wind down operations at the end of 2024, Tengco said.
The online gambling industry emerged in the Philippines in 2016, and expanded rapidly as operators leveraged the country’s liberal gambling laws to target Chinese customers. Gambling is illegal in China.
($1 = 57.8860 Philippine pesos)
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Rachna Uppal)
