Supreme Court's 5% sports share ruling: what PAGCOR owes the PSC and why its profit fell 85%

PAGCOR reported on 29 October 2026 that its net income for January to September fell to Php2.17 billion from Php14.32 billion a year earlier, an 84.85% drop. Revenue fell 23.41% over the same period, and PAGCOR said the drop in net income followed "a Supreme Court ruling requiring PAGCOR to remit 5% of its gross revenues to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), nearly double the previous remittance levels to the sports agency" (PAGCOR). This is the case behind that sentence.

The case: Guiao v. PAGCOR, G.R. No. 223845

• Who and when. Joseller Guiao, then vice chairman of the House Committee on Youth and Sports Development, filed a petition for mandamus on 26 April 2016 against PAGCOR, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the Office of the President (Supreme Court resolution; Philstar).
• The law. Section 26 of Republic Act No. 6847, the Philippine Sports Commission Act, sets aside 5% of PAGCOR's gross income for the sports agency.
• How the share shrank. Two memoranda of 10 November 1993 and 20 February 1995, approved by the Office of the President, had the effect, as the Court summarised the petition, of "reducing the 5% share of the Philippine Sports Commission to a mere 2.1375%". The Court found that "PAGCOR itself admitted that they recommended the erroneous interpretation" and so could not rely on good faith.
• The decision. The Supreme Court en banc ruled for Guiao in a decision dated 28 May 2024, ordering PAGCOR to account for and remit the full 5% from 1993 onwards.
• Final. In a resolution dated 7 October 2025, written by Justice Marvic Leonen as Acting Chief Justice, the Court denied the motion for reconsideration "WITH FINALITY" and affirmed the order in its 28 May 2024 decision. PAGCOR had argued, among other things, that the order should apply only going forward.

What the Court ordered PAGCOR to do

The 7 October 2025 resolution orders PAGCOR to "submit a detailed account of the annual amounts owed to the Philippine Sports Commission and actual remittances made each year, from 1993 to present". Because "the amount that PAGCOR is being directed to remit is substantial", the Court allowed the arrears to be paid "in installment over 10 years". PCSO received a similar order covering 2006 onwards.

The resolution gives no peso amount. Philstar reported on 6 December 2025 that the amount due to the PSC was "around P33 billion", "based on computations" (Philstar). That figure does not come from the Court, and the report does not split PAGCOR's share from PCSO's.

What PAGCOR has paid so far

• March 2026. PSC chairman Patrick Gregorio said PAGCOR had started to remit its share that week (Philstar, 5 Mar 2026).
• First half of 2026. PAGCOR remitted Php2.01 billion to the PSC, up 58.68% from P1.26 billion a year earlier. PAGCOR chairman Alejandro Tengco blamed the lower net income on the 5% share "instead of the previously adopted computation" (GMA News; our H1 report).
• January to September 2026. Php3.01 billion went to the PSC, out of Php45.28 billion in total contributions. The other large items were Php27.61 billion to the National Treasury as the government's 50% share, Php11.19 billion for socio-civic projects and Php2.90 billion in franchise taxes (PAGCOR). The release does not say how much of the Php3.01 billion, if any, was arrears.

The effect on PAGCOR's results

January-September	2025	2026	Change
Total revenue	Php84.09 billion	Php64.41 billion	-23.41%
Electronic Gaming revenue	Php44.03 billion	Php27.63 billion	-37.23%
Net income	Php14.32 billion	Php2.17 billion	-84.85%

Source: PAGCOR, 29 Oct 2026; GMA News and Philstar reported the same figures.

BusinessMirror adds two figures that are not in PAGCOR's release. Nine-month net income was "lower than the Pagcor's net-income target of P3.666 billion for the period by 40.81 percent". It also reported: "Pagcor expects its net income to reach P4.87 billion this year, 72.10 percent lower than last year's P17.46 billion" (BusinessMirror, 29 Oct 2026).

"Nearly double" is PAGCOR's own description. The Court's figures are 5% against the 2.1375% that the memoranda allowed, about 2.3 times. The first-half PSC remittance rose 58.68%. PAGCOR's release does not explain how its own comparison was made.

What it means for players

No rule for licensed sites or players changed. The ruling is about how PAGCOR shares its own income with the PSC. PAGCOR is both the regulator and a casino operator: its release breaks revenue down into Electronic Gaming, licensed casinos and its own Casino Filipino branches. Smaller profits are one more pressure on the agency, alongside its plan to exit casino operations by 2027 and the freeze on new online gaming licences. None of the sources links the ruling to any change in how sites are licensed or checked. Keep verifying sites on PAGCOR Guarantee or with the licence checker.