PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said rates for E-Games operated by integrated resorts were also reduced to a lower 25% to compensate for overhead expenses incurred by brick-and-mortar operators.

“By lowering our share rates, PAGCOR is creating a more favorable regulatory environment by encouraging unregistered online gaming operators to transition to the legal market,” Mr. Tengco said.

The fee rates being collected by the gaming regulator is based on a fixed percentage of the licensees’ gross gaming revenues or GGR.

The PAGCOR chief said the rate cuts will provide operators with more resources for marketing, while helping prevent voluntary closures and ensuring the sector's continued growth and profitability.

Mr. Tengco said that, in fact, the gradual reduction in rates enabled the E-Games sector to surpass, as early as last September, its Php100 billion GGR target for the entire 2024.

Prior to the rate reductions which were initiated in 2023 during the current leadership, Mr. Tengco said PAGCOR was collecting fees of more than 50% of GGR from licensees which deterred expansions.

Prior to this month’s cuts, the most recent reduction in share rates for E-Games were made in April 2024 when the rates were lowered to 35%.

“The gradual reduction of share rates has significantly contributed to the growth of the E-Games sector, which has become a key driver of the local gaming industry,” he said.

He said that the policy change has also led to a significant increase in the number of licensed E-Games operators after a lot of former gray market players decided to join the mainstream by securing PAGCOR licenses.

To date, PAGCOR has issued 1,188 licenses for various on-site and online gaming offerings, a 13.57% increase from the 1,046 licenses issued in 2023.

The number of accredited gaming service providers also increased five-fold from 49 in 2023 to 174 in 2024.

“We expect this trend to continue, and we are optimistic that the best is yet to come for the country’s E-Games sector,” Mr. Tengco added.