The country’s integrated resort casinos generated Php93.36 billion in gross gaming revenues (GGR) in the first half of 2025 to sustain the momentum of the local tourism and gaming sectors, according to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

In his welcome address at the Philippine Hotel Connect 2025 on Thursday, July 24, PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the country’s IR casinos accounted for nearly half of the local gaming industry’s total GGR of Php215 billion from January to June this year.

“Of the Php93.36 billion generated by the integrated resort casinos, Php16 billion was paid to PAGCOR as license fees, ensuring funding for government social services and driving the country’s economic growth,” Chairman Tengco said.

The PAGCOR chief noted that aside from contributing to government revenues, integrated resort casinos also helped position the Philippines as a competitive tourism destination.

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“We have seen time and again how a thriving hospitality sector can drive employment, fuel trade, revive local enterprises, and bridge communities,” he said. “And nowhere is this more evident than in the huge tourism contributions from our licensed integrated resort casinos within and outside Metro Manila.”

Aside from paying billions in license fees, the country’s integrated resort casinos also provide significant funding support to key government institutions – including the health, education, and military sectors – through their cultural foundations.

“Their contributions are concrete examples of how tourism, hospitality, and gaming – when aligned and responsibly managed – become a catalyst for national resilience and progress.”

But alongside the gaming industry’s strong performance, Mr. Tengco emphasized the need to safeguard its growth through effective regulation and responsible gaming practices.

He underscored PAGCOR’s recent move to remove gambling advertisements from areas frequented by minors and its memorandum of understanding with the Ad Standards Council to implement stricter gaming advertising guidelines.

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“As the gaming industry expands, so must our safeguards,” he said. “Hence, we have taken a firm stance against the proliferation of illegal and unregulated gaming operations that offer no safety nets or protection to players and, more importantly, no remittance or any form of revenue to the government.”

Mr. Tengco called for continued collaboration between government and the private sector to maintain the momentum of tourism recovery and long-term economic gains.

“The success of Philippine tourism is a shared journey between regulators and investors, between public ambition and private innovation,” he said. “PAGCOR will continue to walk side by side with our partners in building a globally competitive yet distinctly Filipino tourism and gaming industries.”

Organized by the Philippine Hotel Owners Association, the Philippine Hotel Connect 2025 gathered tourism and hospitality leaders to foster collaboration, discuss global and regional tourism insights and opportunities, emerging trends, among others.

MightyTips has joined forces with fast-growing online platform HeyBaji to increase user engagement, drive qualified traffic, and enhance visibility for both parties.

Eugene Ravdin, Head of PR at SEOBROTHERS, said: “Partnering with HeyBaji reflects MightyTips’ ongoing commitment to connect players with trusted, high-quality gaming platforms. We’re excited to support their growth through our collaboration.”

HeyBaji offers high-quality sports betting and live casino action, featuring games such as Baccarat, Roulette, Andar Bahar, Fan Tan, Sic Bo, and Dragon Tiger, hosted by live dealers.

Under the management of VB Digital N.V., and regulated by the Curacao Gaming Commission, HeyBaji operates with the highest standards of integrity, data security, and responsible gaming. The platform is supported by a dedicated 24/7 customer service.

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Masum, Marketing Executive at HeyBaji, said: “Working with MightyTips has been a rewarding experience for HeyBaji. Their team consistently demonstrates professionalism, transparency, and a deep understanding of affiliate marketing. They’ve helped amplify HeyBaji’s presence by driving quality traffic and delivering players who truly engage with our platform.

MightyTips doesn’t just promote, they partner with purpose. Their commitment to performance and long-term growth aligns perfectly with HeyBaji’s mission to deliver top-tier gaming experiences. We look forward to scaling new heights together.”

This cooperation will further strengthen HeyBaji’s brand visibility across key markets while also enhancing the MightyTips network with another reputable operator.

BETER, the award-winning provider of fast-betting content, data, and odds for esports and sports, has added eTennis disciplines to its flagship ESportsBattle series.

This makes BETER the first supplier to introduce a fast-paced eTennis format to the market, enabling operators to stand out with a truly unique product, provided with live streams, real-time data, and hyper-accurate odds.

The new discipline follows Grand Slam rules and consists of three sets. BETER is initially offering around 400 events per month, each lasting approximately 40 minutes, with competitions held daily from 07:00 to 15:30 CET. The supplier also plans to scale up to 2,200 monthly events by the end of the year, featuring various match formats across two concurrent 24/7 streams.

What truly sets eTennis apart is that bettors engage with real-world superstars rather than generic avatars. Familiar faces include Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Rafael Nadal, Gaël Monfils, Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur, and more. This roster is curated based on sportsbooks’ feedback to ensure immediate recognition and wide appeal.

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BETER’s exclusive ESportsBattle tournaments deliver non-stop betting action across popular titles, including eFootball, eBasketball, eHockey, and now eTennis. With the addition of this latest discipline, BETER offers operators’ customers approximately 500,000 esports matches annually, with up to 50 markets per event. Operators benefit from a sustainable average margin of 7.5%. All matches are provided with 24/7 live streaming, real-time data, and odds.

BETER’s in-house Integrity team continuously monitors all events to ensure compliance with the highest standards of fair play.

Gal Ehrlich, CEO of BETER, said: “At BETER, we continue to mirror the most popular real-world sports with fast-paced esports counterparts to engage next-gen bettors. The addition of eTennis to our flagship ESportsBattle tournaments is the perfect next step.

“Interest in tennis is incredibly high among players, and this has led to a huge surge in demand among sportsbooks for an esports version of the game. We’re thrilled to now fill this gap in the market with a completely new offering. 

“The great thing about our eTennis is that it’s overseen by our Integrity team, ensuring a highly controlled environment and a close-to-zero risk of match-fixing — unlike real tennis, where suspicious betting alerts occur more frequently.”

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Adam Conway, General Manager of Esports Business Division at BETER, added: “Tennis is an incredibly popular sport worldwide, so it made perfect sense to add eTennis to our ESportsBattle tournaments — especially given the rising demand among operators and bettors for fast, round-the-clock esports content.

“At BETER, we’re committed to offering the best esports product suite in the market. That’s why we’re not only launching a never-before-seen eTennis offering, but also aiming to exceed 500,000 esports events annually across all four disciplines — a scale unmatched in the industry.

“We look forward to seeing our partners benefit from these new eTennis tournaments.”