MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) anticipates that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will soon greenlight the long-awaited privatization of its casino operations, as its state-run brand, Casino Filipino, projects a staggering loss of ₱7 billion this year.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Kaban Hotel and Casino Boracay grand opening, PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco stated that formal documents outlining the agency’s multibillion-peso decoupling are on the verge of reaching Malacañang.
“Within October, the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations (GCG) will make a recommendation to the Office of the President on whether it supports the decoupling or not,” Tengco told reporters.
Tengco expressed full confidence that the transition will move forward this October, noting that Casino Filipino has suffered severe financial bleeding since at least 2025.
When asked if the privatization plan would proceed, he answered, “There’s no other way forward.”
Driven by rising operating costs and fierce competition from private gaming licensees, PAGCOR’s Casino Filipino operations have already accumulated roughly ₱6 billion in losses, which are expected to balloon to ₱7 billion in 2026.
Tengco noted that existing private licensees have shown interest in acquiring the Casino Filipino branches, a move that could potentially generate around ₱20 billion for the government.
Separating PAGCOR’s regulatory mandate from its commercial casino operations is designed to ease the agency’s massive payroll burden—which currently spans about 8,000 employees out of 10,000 approved positions—and allow it to sharpen its focus on regulation.
Amid broader economic headwinds, including regional uncertainties, a US-Iran military conflict flare-up, and local economic growth slumping to a post-pandemic low of 2.3 percent in the second quarter, PAGCOR has lowered its full-year gross gaming revenue (GGR) target from ₱397 billion to over ₱350 billion.
Consequently, PAGCOR’s net income is projected to plunge sharply from ₱17.5 billion in 2025 to under ₱5 billion.
“We would be fortunate to achieve a net income of ₱5 billion, as the industry has weakened amid headwinds such as the economic downturn,” Tengco explained.
Compounding these financial pressures is a recent Supreme Court ruling requiring PAGCOR to retroactively remit 5 percent of its gross revenue to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) dating back to 1993.
Monthly remittances have more than doubled from roughly ₱180 million to ₱400 million, bringing total expected funding for the PSC to about ₱5 billion this year.