Casinos in the Clark region of the Philippines achieved total gross gaming revenue (GGR) of PHP 14.54 billion (US$ 254.4 million) in the first half of 2024, up 11.9 percent year-on-year, according to data from the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

Clark (pictured in the archive photo) in the province of Pampanga is home to several casinos, with more scheduled to open in the coming years.

Hann Philippines Inc, the parent company behind the Hann Casino Resort, is currently in development the Hann Reserve estate. According to its organizer, the luxury complex will include three 18-hole golf courses, several upscale hotels, villas and “residences”.

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

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 license. According to media reports, Premium Leisure Corp, an investor in the City of Dreams Manila casino resort, planned to invest at least $300 million in a separate casino resort in Clark.

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

The country’s licensed commercial casinos continued to be the largest contributor to gross profits in the six months ended June 30, with nearly PHP99.17 billion, down 6.3 percent year-on-year, according to Pagcor data.

But the major casino resorts in Manila’s Entertainment City gaming zone saw their combined gross revenue decline 11.4 percent year-on-year to PHP79.42 billion in the first half of 2024.

Casinos operated by Pagcor – part of its network of Casino Filipino venues – generated gross revenue of PHP 8.90 billion in the January-June period, down 11.6 percent from the previous year.

Overall, the Philippine gaming sector – including non-casino operations – generated gross profit of PHP 170.94 billion in the first half of 2024, up 25.4 percent from the same quarter last year.

The balance sheet was boosted by an increase in GGR in the electronically delivered games segment by 531.6 percent year-on-year to PHP 53.34 billion.

In July, state-owned Pagcor reported Net income of PHP 6.56 billion for the first half of 2024, an increase of 121.5 percent compared to the same period last year.