Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR, ) is a

government-owned and controlled corporation In the Philippines, a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC), sometimes with an "and/or", is a state-owned enterprise that conducts both commercial and non-commercial activity. Examples of the latter would be the Government Service In ...

established through the ''Presidential Decree 1869''. PAGCOR is the Philippines' largest contributor of revenue to the government after the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs. PAGCOR is under the

Office of the President of the Philippines The Office of the President of the Philippines (OP; fil, links=no, Tanggapan ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas), is an administrative, advisory, and consultative government agency that aids the president of the Philippines in performing their duty as he ...

History

The Corporation was created during the Martial Law years by virtue of a Presidential Decree (PD1067-A) issued by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos in response to calls for the Philippine Government to put a stop to the growing proliferation of illegal casino operations in various parts of the country then. After its establishment, PAGCOR entered into a contract with Philippine Casino Operators Corporation (PCOC) for the operation of the floating casino in the

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phi ...

in 1977. However, after the floating casino was gutted by fire in 1979, PAGCOR shifted its focus to land-based casinos and entered into another contract with PCOC for the management of a casino at the Provident International and Resources Corporation (PIRC) building on Imelda Avenue, Parañaque City,

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in ...

, Philippines. Then, under ''Presidential Decree 1869'', decreed in 1983, it was mandated to act as the sole government corporation conducting and establishing gaming pools and casinos in the country. In 1986, it was re-established and reorganized by Philippine President

Corazon C. Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

as a New PAGCOR to help raise funds for the government; Norberto Quisumbing was appointed as its first chairman, followed by the former

Development Bank of the Philippines The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is a state-owned development bank headquartered in Makati, Philippines. It was established after World War II in 1947 on the government's effort through its mandate to rebuild the country's war to ...

Chair Alicia LL. Reyes as its Chair and CEO. Reyes was succeeded by Ephraim Genuino under the appointment by Philippine President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

in 2001. The firm operates its own casinos and several VIP slot clubs in major cities across the country. It also oversees and regulates privately owned

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s, more than 180

bingo parlor In the United States, bingo is a game of chance in which each player matches the numbers printed in different arrangements on cards. The game host (caller) draws at random, marking the selected numbers with tiles. When a player finds the selec ...

s, as well as e-games cafes across the country. The company employs more than 11,000 workers. In June 2007, PAGCOR gained from a piece of legislation, ''Republic Act 9487'', which granted the state-run gaming firm, then under the leadership of Chairman Genuino, another 25 years to regulate and operate games of chance, to issue licenses, and to enter into joint venture, management, or investment agreements with private entities for the

Entertainment City Entertainment City, also known as E-City (formerly ''PAGCOR City'' and ''Manila Bay Tourism City''), is a gaming and entertainment complex under development by PAGCOR spanning an area of in Bay City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was first envi ...

in the Manila Bay area, Parañaque, and in Newport City,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 440,656 people. Due to its location j ...

, in particular. Chairman Genuino successfully attracted investors to the project to put up Las Vegas-style integrated resorts. Two integrated resorts opened on November 1, 2014. On July 13, 2018, PAGCOR announced the appointment of Attorney Angeline Papica-Entienza as the head of the agency's Gaming Licensing and Development Department and as the assistant vice president of the corporation.

List of chairpersons

*Norberto B. Quisumbing (1986) *Alicia L. Reyes (1987 – 2001) *Efraim C. Genuino (2001 – 2010) *Cristino L. Naguiat Jr. (2010 – June 2016) *Andrea D. Domingo (July 2016 – June 2022) *Alejandro H. Tengco (Aug 2022 - Present)

References

{{authority control Gambling companies of the Philippines Government-owned and controlled corporations of the Philippines Companies based in Manila

History

List of chairpersons

See also

References