When gaming does good

Some people ask if gaming can be responsible and well governed at the same time especially if one body is in charge and owns it too. In this instance the body being pointed to is Pagcor which owns and manages its own casinos as well as independent casinos. At first glance those who criticize such an arrangement say it can’t do the two together.

I would dispute such an argument against gaming or gambling as some prefer to call it. It does both and remains a big factor in nation building. Recently Chairman Andrea Domingo, COO Fred Lim and members of the board visited a casino which was a fire hazard. Pagcor even had a fire drill to show why before and after the structure was corrected. The casino operator lost money and so did Pagcor while it was being reconstructed for safety.

On the other hand there is a casino which is not earning money for the government but continues to operate even if it was licensed in a previous administration. Pagcor is doing everything it can to make it profitable but the efforts have failed. It was a wrong decision by former board to have given it a license. Some say it was a political decision, meaning a politician intervened to give it a license and it is now a mill in the neck of the present Pagcor administration.

Figures show that casino earnings continue to grow whether owned or merely supervised by Pagcor. On the contrary Pagcor-owned casinos continue to improve its earnings. There are other reasons to be considered – location, location, and location.

As Chairman of Pagcor Andrea Domingo reminds the public the high earnings of this body is not just about gambling and gaming, it is part of nation building.

“We remit 50 percent of our income to the National Treasury,” Domingo said. “These funds are used by the government to fund its social alleviation and nation-building projects that benefit the widest number of Filipinos. Pagcor is here to help the country to move forward,” she said in one interview.

Pagcor’s gross gaming revenues (GGR) will reach P192 billion this year, up P6 billion from the P186 billion GGR forecast or a 14 percent rise from the previous year’s earnings.

For 2019, Pagcor earnings will rise even further by 13 percent to P217 billion, expecting a sustained GGR growth from the expansion of online gaming from bettors overseas. Gaming can be evil but it also does good for projects of the government. The task of Pagcor is to ensure responsible gambling like watching out for addicted gamblers. It certainly prohibits minors as well as government officials which are among the many precautions to stay close to responsible gambling.

“Our performance this year is better than expected for both the private integrated resorts and the Pagcor-owned casinos,” she added.

In other words, it contributes to nation building. Recent figures show it remits five percent of its revenues to the Bureau of Internal Revenue representing franchise tax and other income taxes; P60 million annually to the Dangerous Drugs Board; five percent to the Philippine Sports Commission; one percent to the Board of Claims; P500 million to the Early Childhood Care and Development, and the local communities which receive host cities’ share for hosting a Casino Filipino branch.

More importantly especially those who want better health service for the poor it contributes P100 million monthly allocation to the Philippine General Hospital. It is one  of the major projects of President Rodrigo Duterte. I have interviewed patients in the hospital and said we should say more about it. For years the hospital has languished. Today it attends to scores of poor sick patients lined up at its corridors.

Pagcor’s huge contributions to nation-building have caught the attention of other countries, both developed and underdeveloped as a kind of taxation. The Philippines will soon face competition among countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and even Japan.

“We intend to educate more Filipinos about Pagcor’s programs that were designed to uplift the lives of less privileged Filipinos. It’s high time that the public realize our noble goals because all our efforts to surpass past achievements are for the good of our country,” she said.

In the coming years it will have its hands full to help self-initiated corporate social responsibility projects such as relief missions for victims of various calamities, donation of classrooms, computers, backpacks with school supplies and hygiene kits to public school students, among others.

Domingo said other countries are working hard for stiff competition. It means it has to meet required funds by Mr. Duterte. We need his help  to complete a plan to further develop the country’s integrated resort and casino (IRC) sector  to meet competition from emerging gaming destinations in Asia.

It gave funds of about P842.5 million to Philippine Sports Commission recently. This will fund the rehabilitation of facilities for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games this coming November.