The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is set to push ahead with plans to privatise the casinos it currently owns.
According to the Philippine Star, Alejandro Tengco, PAGCOR’s Chair and CEO, told reporters that the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) is set to submit its recommendation to the Office of the President in August on PAGCOR’s plan to end its operator role and solely act as a regulator.
The move would end the Philippine government’s 50-year ownership of casinos in the country, beginning with a floating casino on the MS Philippine Tourist in 1977.
“The Office of the President will study that so it will be at the end of this year. It will be done through an Executive Order,” he said, confirming the timeline for the privatisation.
The PAGCOR portfolio currently consists of nine casinos, as well as 35 further satellite casinos.
However, like the Philippines’ wider gaming sector, PAGCOR’s casinos have been hit by the economic downturn caused by ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
The section recorded gross gaming revenues of P3.17bn in the first quarter of 2026, compared to P3.45bn in Q1 2025. PAGCOR recorded overall revenue of P104.12bn (£1.26bn) through the first quarter of 2026, down 15.87% compared to the same period in 2025.
Although Tengco has previously been optimistic of a long-term turnaround, he confirmed a second successive quarter of poor financial performance, though no figures have been released as of yet.
Tengco said: “There are no tourists. There are no VIP players because of the war. The online gaming sector was hit because users from income classes C and D are the groups most affected by the Middle East crisis.”
There appears to be little hope of an immediate respite in the tensions between Iran and the US after two US military personnel were killed by Iranian strikes in Jordan and the US ended its ninth consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Monday.
