The Philippine casino sector produced gross gaming revenue (GGR) of PHP56.85 billion (US$1.03 billion) in the third quarter, a slight increase from PHP56.61 billion in the preceding quarter. The tally rose 15.1 percent from the prior-year period.

That is according to data released on Thursday by the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

The casino GGR figure excludes revenue from bingo operations and electronic games parlours.

Third-quarter 2023′s GGR from commercial casinos licensed by Pagcor amounted to just under PHP51.91 billion, up nearly 16.0 percent on the prior-year quarter’s PHP44.75 billion.

The largest year-on-year rise in quarterly GGR was for the commercial casinos at Clark, which saw a 45.8 percent gain, to just over PHP8.88 billion.

The large-scale Entertainment City resorts in the country’s capital, Manila, recorded GGR for the three months to September 30 of PHP42.66 billion, up 11.5 percent from a year earlier.

Third-quarter GGR from Pagcor-operated gaming – including its Casino Filipino venues – amounted to PHP4.94 billion, up 6.8 percent from the prior-year period.

Alejandro Tengco, chairman and chief executive of Pagcor, said in July that the agency was projecting that the Philippine gaming sector could generate at least PHP272.74 billion in annual GGR for full-year 2023. The figure included revenue from bingo operations and electronic games parlours.