MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) expects the country's gaming revenues to hit $2.5 billion this year, a 25% increase from last year's $2 billion revenue.

Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer Cristino L. Naguiat Jr. said the domestic economy and tourism will benefit from the growing casino sector.

"Everybody’s taking a second look at the Philippines. They’re bullish on the Philippine gaming industry," he said.

The Pagcor chief expects gaming revenues to reach $5 billion by 2015 and up to $10 billion by 2017, as the Pagcor Entertainment City starts operations.

Entertainment City, seen to be the Philippines' version of the Las Vegas strip, aims to attract at least a million tourists annually and capture 10% of the global gaming market.

Earlier, a Standard and Poor’s report said the Philippine gaming market was the third fastest in the region.