no gross gaming revenue in the Philippines rose by 15% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2017, to PHP39.15bn (US$759.4m), according to data from the country’s regulator the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

In the April-June period, revenue from electronic gaming sites, which includes traditional bingo, electronic games and sports betting, generated over PHP6.17bn. This figure combined with revenues from casinos results into an aggregate national GGR of PHP45.31bn, up by 10% in the three months ended on 30 June.

The official publication of the Q2 numbers this week, which marks the first time the regulatory body Pagcor releases financial figures since November 2016, meant the Philippines casino junket market’s GGR tally for the first six months of 2017 stood at PHP21.79bn, representing 28%, whilst non-junket recorded 38% of the total.

Aside from the state-run casinos, the private-sector resorts in Manila posted an overall GGR of PHP28.48bn in the second quarter, an impressive increase of 25.9% compared to the same period last year. The four private casinos based exclusively in the Philippines capital of Manila - City of Dreams Manila (Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd), Solaire Resort and Casino (Bloomberry Resorts Corp), Resorts World Manila (Travellers International Hotel Group Inc) and Okada Manila (Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc ) – recorded the majority of junket-generated GGR.

This financial update comes shortly after the Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez revealed last month that the government is reported to sell 17 casinos currently managed by Pagcor. Following the announcement, Bloomberry’s Chairman and Chief Executive, Enrique Razon, said his firm would be interested in acquiring some regional casino operations from Pagcor.