Your Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Philippines’ GGR likely to surpass $2.2b this year as restrictions ease

Thursday 7th of April 2022

Good Morning. The casinos in the Philippines’ Entertainment City resumed operations at full capacity from the beginning of March, while the borders have also reopened for international travelers. By all accounts, there has been a strong rebound in business on the casino floors and Eric Coskun, director of casino operations at IGamiX Management & Consulting, predicts gross gambling revenue in Manila’s integrated resorts will exceed at least 2017 levels this year. He runs us through some of the numbers and discusses the outperformance of Okada Manila.
Don't forget, this year the Philippines will be home to the ASEAN Gaming Summit 2022, held at the Shangri-La At the Fort in BGC on 25-27 July 2022. Registration is now available.

What you need to know

Las Vegas Sands said its Marina Bay Sands unit in Singapore has been given another year to begin construction on its S$4.5 billion expansion project for the resort.
Paradise Co. posted an 11.8% gain in March casino sales from the prior month, though the figure was 15.8% lower than last year and lagged Grand Korea Leisure.
Star legal counsel believed use of CUP cards for gambling was legally workable.

On the radar

Novomatic revenue improves in 2021, driven by Europe, online.
Sands China draws down $201m, has cash for another 12 months.
Melco International replaces share options after stock price collapse.
Konami, Crane Co. drives AGEM index in March.

Junket operators:
One activity, two legal systems

Carlos Simões

What the papers say

Cambodia airline launches direct flights from Zhengzhou to Phnom Penh.
Satellite casinos opaque and closure of Macau legal loopholes desirable, academic says.

AGB Intelligence

ON THE GROUND

Philippines’ GGR likely to surpass $2.2b as restrictions ease

Gross gambling revenue (GGR) in the Philippines’ Entertainment City properties was up 21 percent in the first two months of the year and the casinos are on track to surpass the $2.2 billion generated in 2017. If this pace continues, Entertainment City should be back at its peak levels by the end of next year, driven by mass and premium mass business, says Eric Coskun, director of casino projects at IGamiX Management & Consulting. Coskun said his figures are erring on the cautious side and the PHP141.43 billion ($2.7 billion) level achieved in Entertainment City in 2018 could be reached this year if international tourism flows are strong.