Casino equipment and game technology developer Light & Wonder Inc has opened a new office and showroom at the Clark Cityfront complex (pictured) in Clark, Pampanga, a two-hour drive from the Philippines capital, Manila.
Clark, a former military base near Angeles City, is the home of Clark International Airport. The adjacent Clark Freeport Zone already has a cluster of gaming properties, including Hann Casino Resort.
Participants at Wednesday’s ceremony included Light & Wonder’s global gaming chief executive, Siobhan Lane, and the company’s iGaming CEO, Simon Johnson. Alejandro Tengco, chairman of the country’s regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), also took part in the event.
Glenn Huybrecht, Light & Wonder’s vice president and managing director for Asia, said the opening of the new facility in Clark would enable the company to “service this market faster”.
“Philippines is the biggest market in Asia for us, and we want to be present here with a showroom,” Mr Huybrecht told GGRAsia.
The executive said it was “important” for Light & Wonder to have a presence in both Clark and Manila, with its employees able to work in either of the locations, better to serve its customers in the Philippine market.
“We’ve expanded quite a bit … and we have an objective to hire more talent in the Philippines in the future,” he added.
Mr Huybrecht said the gaming supplier aims to have “a three-hub strategy” in Asia, with offices in the Philippines, Macau and Singapore.
“Macau is still our regional headquarters, and these three offices will allow us to move around, have all the products available here, and help us to attract the best talent in the region,” he stated.
Light & Wonder’s managing director for Asia also said the company will have an official opening next month for its office in Singapore.
“It’s been already in use for a few months in the CBD [Central Business District] area” in Singapore, and “we have a showroom there as well”.
The Singapore office has the “same objective” as similar facilities in Asia. “We want to engage with customers and the GRA [Gambling Regulatory Authority] on a more regular basis,” noted Mr Huybrecht.
“We want to make sure that we’re visible and have presence in all the markets,” he added.
The executive said Light & Wonder wants to “strengthen” its foundations in 2025. “There’s a lot of demand in all of the markets for new products, for innovation, and that’s the demand that we want to focus on,” he said in remarks to GGRAsia.
Mr Huybrecht said the gaming supplier has invested “very heavily” in research and development (R&D) in Asia.
“We have a new R&D team for our ETGs [electronic table games]. We have seven studios building games for Asia on an Asia template,” he stated.
Light & Wonder opens new office, showroom in Clark as it looks to expand presence in Asia
