Good Morning. The Philippines will see a change of leadership in May, when mercurial President Rodrigo Duterte will leave office. His tenure has been a roller coaster for the country’s gaming industry. He blazed in with declarations of his hatred for the industry and is bowing out having softened to the economic benefits. We take a look at his legacy and how the declared candidates might view gaming.
What you need to know
- Asian American Entertainment Corp. may have lost up to MOP57.9 billion ($7.4 billion) as a result of the breakdown of its accord to bid for a Macau casino license with Las Vegas Sands (LVS).
- Genting Group’s U.S. resorts managed to keep their revenue momentum in November, despite rapidly rising Covid cases, with GGR remaining above 2019 levels, according to Nomura Research.
- Properties in Manila’s Entertainment City remain open with operating restrictions despite Manila having moved to the higher Alert Level 3 until January 15.
- The Macau government is expecting to collect only US$5.4 million in taxes from casino junkets in 2022, after the crackdown on Suncity and the pulling out of several concessionaires from the junket game in 2021.
On the radar
- APAC travel reopening upended by Omicron, but not all bleak: Fitch Ratings.
- GKL casino sales drop 52% in 2021, but December shows improvement.
- U.S. embassy expresses concern over arrests of striking Nagacorp workers.
What the papers say
- Macau records another two cases of Covid-19, one of which is Delta.
AGB Intelligence
DEEP DIVE
PH election candidates unlikely to upset the gaming applecart
Political uncertainty has always been a factor in investing in the Philippines and although the candidates for upcoming presidential elections are a colorful cast of characters, they don’t throw up major red flags for the gambling industry. The elections will be held on May 9th and current incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte is barred from standing for a third term under the constitution. He has also now said he won’t be running for another office either. The five hopefuls include the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, a teen-actor-turned mayor, a former boxing champ, a police chief once on Interpol’s most-wanted list, and the current vice president, who is a firm opponent of Duterte.
Industry Updates
- Microgaming kicks off 2022 with a flurry of January releases.
- JCM Global signs exclusive master supply agreement with Caesars Entertainment.
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