Casinos in the Clark region of the Philippines saw their combined gross gaming revenue (GGR) reach PHP14.54 billion (US$254.4 million) in the first half of 2024, up 11.9 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

Clark (pictured in a file photo), in Pampanga province, is home to a number of casinos, and others are expected to open in coming years.

Hann Philippines Inc, the master entity behind the Hann Casino Resort, is currently developing the Hann Reserve property. The luxury development will feature three 18-hole courses, several upmarket hotels, villas, and “residences”, according to its promoter.

In December, a Banyan Tree-branded hotel broke ground at the site of Hann Reserve, and, in July, Hann Philippines announced that the scheme will also feature a 250-room InterContinental-branded hotel.

In mid-July, Pagcor confirmed to GGRAsia that the agency had received an application for a new casino resort in Clark.

The regulator did not confirm the identity of the company applying for the licence. Media reports suggested that Premium Leisure Corp, an investor in the City of Dreams Manila casino resort, was planning to invest at least US$300 million in a separate casino resort in Clark.

The growth observed in Clark bucked the trend in terms of GGR performance at licensed casinos in the country.

The country’s licensed commercial-sector casinos remained the biggest contributor to GGR in the six months to June 30, at nearly PHP99.17 billion. The figure was down 6.3 percent year-on-year, according to Pagcor’s data.

But large-scale casino resorts at the Entertainment City gaming zone in Manila saw their collective GGR decline by 11.4 percent year-on-year, to PHP79.42 billion in the first half of 2024.

Pagcor-operated casinos – under its network of Casino Filipino venues – brought in PHP8.90 billion in GGR in the January to June period, 11.6-percent lower than a year earlier.

Overall, the Philippine gaming sector – including non-casino operations – produced GGR of PHP170.94 billion in the first half of 2024, up 25.4 percent from the prior-year quarter.

The tally was boosted by a 531.6-percent year-on-year increase in GGR in the electronically-delivered games segment, to PHP53.34 billion.