Your Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Philippine election candidates unlike to upset the gaming applecart

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

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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