Good Morning. Day One of the ASEAN Gaming Summit heard that casino operators in the Philippines are seeing a stronger-than-expected recovery. Some, such as Thunderbird Resorts, which gets most of its business from the domestic market, expects to exceed pre-pandemic GGR this year. All were upbeat about the prospects for the Philippines’ gaming industry, with growth seen coming from both the domestic market and from international travelers as the product offering improves. Day Two on Wednesday will focus on the online gaming industry and again will be live streamed for those who can’t attend in person.
What you need to know
- GGR for land-based casinos in the Philippines is expected to hit $1.91b this year as the industry recovers from Covid, a senior PAGCOR official said.
- Japan’s intention was always to have three IRs and it would make sense to reopen the license process to allow new entrants: Joji Kokuryo.
- Imperial Pacific International has written off more in gaming debts in the past three years than all of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip in a decade.
On the radar
- Crane Holdings 2Q22 EPS ex-items slips, but revenue up 7%.
AGB Intelligence
ASEAN2022 FOCUS
Philippine operators to return to pre-pandemic GGR this year
Some regional Philippine casino operators say they are expecting gross gambling revenue to return to pre-pandemic levels this year, with the market bouncing back stronger than they had expected. Licensed casinos recorded GGR of PHP181.3 billion in 2019 before the Covid crisis hit, which was a record for the Philippines. In 1Q22 this year, the casinos reported PHP30.1 billion, but that figure only reflected a month of normal operations, with operations returning to full capacity from the beginning of March. Speaking on a panel session at the ASEAN 2022 Gaming Summit, David Lawrence, casino general manager of Thunderbird Resorts said revenue had climbed very quickly since March.“I think we will be back to pre-Covid levels by the end of this year quite easily,” he said.
Industry Updates
- Michael Fitzsimons appointed Executive Director at HKJC.
- GLI names Barrie Wilson as new APAC Client Services Manager.
- W88 signs record sponsorship deal with Fulham for the new EPL season.
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