The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCor) has reportedly announced that its aggregated gross gaming revenues for the first three months of the year dropped by 51.4% on a comparative basis to just over $172.37 million.

According to a report from GGRAsia, the state-run operator and regulator is responsible for some 19,900 slots alongside over 2,000 gaming tables offered via its six Casino Filipino-branded venues in addition to a chain of about 30 satellite properties spread across the Philippines. The source explained that the enterprise blamed the recent decline on the ongoing closure of many of its businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Persistent plunge:

This upheaval reportedly saw PAGCor’s first-quarter net income plummet by a disappointing 80.3% year-on-year to slightly over $3.14 million, which represented a decrease of about 90.1% when compared with the roughly $31.95 million chalked up for the first three months of 2019. The enterprise had purportedly recorded a fall of 5.7% in comparative aggregated gross gaming revenues for the first quarter of 2020 to $355 million as the Philippines began to feel the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic to take its net income for the period down by 49.9% to approximately $15.4 million.

Coffer contribution:

PAGCor reportedly explained that it had paid in the region of $90.49 million in gaming taxes during the first quarter of 2021 including almost $81.63 million directly to the Asian nation’s Bureau of the Treasury. The business moreover purportedly disclosed that its overall expenses for the three-month period had fallen by 45.8% year-on-year to nearly $90.29 million as its commitments to local social responsibility projects similarly diminished.

Oversight obligations:

Manila-headquartered PAGCor additionally serves as the regulator for the entire Filipino casino industry and reportedly also pronounced that the $76.89 million it had collected in first-quarter fees equated to a year-on-year decline of 45.3%. Similarly, it purportedly revealed a contraction in earnings from the regulation of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) license holders to $13.98 million, which was 62.5% down on the $37.32 million brought in for the same period last year.

Enduring exclusion:

GGRAsia reported that all casinos in metropolitan Manila including the giant Resorts World Manila, Solaire Resort and Casino, City of Dreams Manila and Okada Manila developments have been closed since March 29 owing to restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic. It similarly forecast that this state of affairs is expected to continue until at least the end of the month as the Philippines struggles to come to terms with an epidemic that has so far killed in excess of 17,000 locals including 3,840 in the last 30 days alone.