Philippine-licensed online gambling revenue was the only vertical in growth mode during the first quarter of 2020, according to new (and somewhat suspect) stats from the country’s gambling regulator.

Figures released this week by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) show overall gaming revenue hit P60b (US$1.2b) in the three months ending March 31, virtually unchanged from the same period last year. That would be an impressive feat, given the impact of COVID-19 on the local gaming industry, but it seems somebody at PAGCOR forgot to check their sums.

The PAGCOR stats show brick-and-mortar casino revenue of P53b, up around half-a-billion from Q1 2019. But the 2020 figure has been goosed by an apparently accidental double-counting of the P7.6b generated by the PAGCOR-operated Casino Filipino business.

The PAGCOR-licensed privately-run casinos in Manila’s Entertainment City gaming zone reported revenue of nearly P33.5b in Q1 2020, down from P39.8b last year, reflecting the mid-March closure of land-based gambling operations due to COVID-19.