THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said the country's gross gaming revenues (GGR) in 2023 reached a record of P285.27 billion, breaching pre-pandemic levels and paving the way for more robust growth in the coming years.

Pagcor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Tengco said the new GGR record is 11.22 percent higher than the previous high of P256.49 billion set in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020 when gaming revenues fell steeply because of movement restrictions.

The Pagcor chief said the latest numbers also made the Philippine GGR projection of P336.38 billion for 2024 more achievable, especially with the scheduled opening of new integrated resorts this year.

Tengco said the industry posted an all-time GGR low of P98.79 billion at the height of the pandemic in 2020. However, the following year, GGR climbed slightly to P113.09 billion before nearly doubling to P214.33 billion in 2022, setting the stage for this year's record-setting haul.

Tengco said the country's integrated resorts were still the biggest contributors to the gaming industry's revenue pie with a P207.48 billion take in 2023, followed by the fast rising electronic games sector with P58.16 billion.

Pagcor-operated casinos under the Casino Filipino brand contributed P19.62 billion to the 2023 numbers.