PAGCOR reported Php106.03 billion in total revenues for 2025, down 5.09% from Php111.72 billion in 2024, as land-based casino earnings softened and offshore gaming dropped out of the revenue mix. Despite the topline decline, the revenue composition now points to a structural pivot: electronic and online gaming generated Php53.33 billion, making digital channels the largest stabiliser of the regulator’s gaming income.
Business Impact Snapshot
- Digital is no longer “incremental” in the Philippines—it is the base case. Online and electronic gaming accounted for ~56% of PAGCOR’s gaming revenues, tightening the link between regulatory posture and fiscal outcomes.
- Profitability held up even as revenue fell. Net income rose to Php17.47 billion (up 4.18% YoY), signalling that cost discipline and mix shift can offset slower land-based performance.
- Policy shocks can rebase the market quickly. The offshore gaming ban removed a segment that contributed nearly Php3 billion in 2024, underscoring regulatory tail risk for adjacent B2B and service layers.
- Compliance pressure will track the money. Digital is now the main revenue engine, so scrutiny is likely to intensify around supplier accreditation, payments oversight, product controls, and advertising discipline. That tightening is already visible in PAGCOR’s minimum guaranteed fee rollout for gaming system administrators, signalling stronger fee-based control over the online supply chain.
A Mix Shift Story, Not Just a Down Year
The message of the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation shows gaming operations at Php95.15 billion (vs Php97.53 billion in 2024), while other revenue streams added Php10.88 billion. The more consequential signal is where stability came from: eGames, eBingo, and bingo grantees rose 9.30% to Php53.33 billion, offsetting part of the land-based decline. The figures were published in PAGCOR’s official 2025 revenue statement.
Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco positioned the land-based drop as demand migration:
The decline in revenues from land-based casinos is largely driven by the gradual change in player behaviour, with more customers opting for digital and online gaming platforms.
For operators and investors, that framing matters because it implies the key variable is not footfall recovery—it is the pace at which regulated digital options can absorb migrating demand without triggering political backlash or enforcement tightening.
Land-Based Weakness Was Not Uniform
PAGCOR-run casinos recorded the sharpest deterioration: revenues fell 18.12% to Php10.38 billion. Licensed casinos, by contrast, produced Php31.44 billion, down 4.93%.
That divergence suggests the land-based slowdown is not monolithic. It raises two execution questions: whether the regulator-operated estate is more exposed to the migrating mass market, and whether licensed operators are managing the transition through loyalty mechanics, product mix, or cross-channel retention strategies that are less available to state-run venues.
Digital Dominance Pulls Regulation Into the Revenue Model
PAGCOR explicitly linked the shift to regulatory responsiveness:
This shift underscores the need for regulators to keep pace with how players engage with online gaming products.
It also stated that it has “implemented significant regulatory upgrades” to protect players, promote transparency, and keep online gaming within a secure, regulated environment. The business implication is straightforward: as digital’s revenue weight increases, the regulator’s incentive to formalise oversight across the supply chain increases as well.
That trajectory is already visible in PAGCOR’s 2026 tightening of online gaming compliance rules, which highlights how higher operating thresholds and responsible gambling measures can compress the number of viable platforms. It is reinforced by PAGCOR’s February–March accreditation deadlines for B2B suppliers, where supplier accreditation and disclosure requirements are positioned as enforceable gatekeeping tools rather than administrative formalities.
Offshore Gaming Exit: A Regulatory Reset With Spillover Risk
PAGCOR attributed part of the year-on-year decline to the offshore gaming ban, noting the segment contributed nearly Php3 billion in 2024 but was absent from the 2025 base. The move was announced in a Philippine government press release on the immediate POGO shutdown. It was formalised through Executive Order No. 74, with government communications citing national security, public order, and financial integrity risks tied to offshore gaming activity.
For B2B stakeholders, the lesson is less about one segment disappearing and more about proximity risk: when policy turns, it often expands from operators to enablers (payments, hosting, marketing services, studios, and content distribution), especially where oversight narratives focus on crime, AML exposure, or reputational risk.
Fiscal Optics: Contributions Remained a Political Asset
Even with lower revenues, PAGCOR reported Php66.95 billion in “contributions to nation-building”, including Php45.19 billion remitted to the National Treasury as the government share, plus allocations across franchise taxes, corporate income tax, sport, and socio-civic programs. Net income increased to Php 17.47 billion.
This matters because the regulator’s fiscal role can shape how aggressively it moves on compliance in the channels that now fund the largest portion of its gaming revenue. As the digital share grows, enforcement and technical standards tend to follow—not as an abstract policy preference, but as a revenue-protection mechanism.
Expert Outlook: 2026 Watchpoints
If digital channels remain the core stabiliser, the market’s competitive battleground shifts toward compliance execution. Three indicators will signal how quickly PAGCOR tightens the operating environment: (1) supplier accreditation enforcement intensity, (2) payments and advertising restrictions that reshape acquisition economics—alongside tighter governance of player data, reinforced by PAGCOR’s data privacy coordination with the National Privacy Commission—and (3) whether land-based declines stabilise, since prolonged retail weakness typically accelerates regulatory reliance on digital and the pace of rulemaking.