GGRAsia – Okada Manila to expand marketing, eyes overseas patrons

Okada Manila to expand marketing, eyes overseas patrons

Aug 10, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Japanese gaming conglomerate Universal Entertainment Corp says the Okada Manila casino resort (pictured), in the Philippine capital Manila, will be expanding its marketing activities to attract customers from elsewhere in Asia.

Universal Entertainment is the parent of Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc, the latter the promoter of Okada Manila.

In its second-quarter earnings report, Universal Entertainment mentioned that Okada Manila is currently promoting the “Okada Manila Go” marketing campaign. The activity involves a weekly draw for all of the complex’s “gaming members” in the Philippines, for a chance to win travel prizes, including round-trip tickets to Manila and free hotel stays, according to the firm.

“This campaign is currently only in the Philippines but is expected to be expanded to include gaming members in other countries too,” stated the parent company on Wednesday.

“To bring in more foreign tourists, we will also increase marketing activities in several Asian countries,” said the firm. The campaign, it added, “is also aimed at raising awareness of the Okada Manila brand in the Philippines and other countries.”

The company additionally said it expected recovery in foreign-visitor volumes to the Philippines “to continue in 2023”, as the “impact of the pandemic on travel and other activities declines”.

Second-quarter casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) at the Okada Manila resort declined 2.4 percent sequentially, to just above PHP11.29 billion (US$200.3 million currently). Judged year-on-year, the second-quarter GGR performance was up 36.1 percent, Universal Entertainment said in preliminary results published in July.

Adjusted segment earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the property in the second quarter this year fell 7.8 percent from the first three months, to PHP3.07 billion. Such second-quarter EBITDA increased 39.9 percent judged year-on-year.

In its Wednesday filing, Universal Entertainment said that “one priority” for the Manila property was to “increase the scale of online games that can be played within the Philippines,” in order to “continue to attract an even broader range of local visitors in the gaming business.

“These activities are steadily increasing gaming demand in areas of the Philippines other than Luzon Island, where Manila is located,” said the parent company.

The Okada Manila resort began offering in April last year online gaming for domestic customers, under the Philippines Inland Gaming Operator (PIGO) licensing system.

The PIGO business was described as a “growing market” during the pandemic, as Covid-19-related restrictions prevented players in the Philippines from visiting casinos. PIGO games must be connected to physical gaming machines located inside a gaming venue.