The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), that country’s gaming regulator, remitted PHP3.27 billion (US$55.9 million) to the national government in May. The tally marked a 26.1-percent increase from the nearly PHP2.6 billion-remittance Pagcor made to the state coffers in the same month a year ago.

That is according to the latest cash-operations report released by the Philippines’ Bureau of the Treasury.

The May number took Pagcor’s remittances to the national government for the first five months of this year to an aggregate of PHP17.38 billion, 31.2 percent higher than the PHP13.25 billion in remittances Pagcor contributed in the same period in 2023, according to treasury data.

The five-month tally was up 23.3-percent on the PHP14.10 billion Pagcor contributed to state coffers in the first five months of 2019, the trading year prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pagcor regulates and licences private-sector casinos, including large-scale resorts in Entertainment City, Manila, and is currently also an operator of some publicly-owned casinos, under the brand of ‘Casino Filipino’. Pagcor has said on several occasions recently that it is committed to privatising the chain.