When President Duterte assumed power in mid-2016, the prospects for the Philippine gaming industry looked uncertain.
Within weeks of taking the reins of government, the mercurial chief executive effectively killed the business prospects of Philweb Corp.—a publicly listed firm that operated the largest network of electronic gaming outlets in the country —by ordering the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) not to renew the firm’s license.
And while the President never hit out against the growing local casinos directly, fears were rife among industry insiders that he would set his sights on the booming businesses of the multibillion-dollar casino complexes along Manila Bay next.
But the numbers and dates from the third quarter of 2016— that very same period when uncertainty over the local gaming business was at its peak—tell a different story.
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According to data from Pagcor, the gross gaming revenues of the entire Philippine casino industry in the third quarter of of last year actually rose, instead of falling as everyone was fearing.
Pagcor data showed that for July to September in 2016, total industry revenue reached P39.774 billion, representing an 11.3-percent increase over the P35.727 billion reported during the same period last year.
