Philippine casino developer and promoter Bloomberry Resorts Corp is set to launch an online gaming platform at the “end of May” or “early June”, said on Thursday the firm’s chairman and chief executive, Enrique Razon (pictured in a file photo).
Philippines-listed Bloomberry runs its flagship Solaire Resort & Casino property at Entertainment City in Manila. The company also operates a land-based operation at Solaire Resort North, at Vertis, Quezon City, north of Metro Manila.
“Our online business is running and undergoing extensive testing. We are on track for a full launch around the end of May, early June,” Mr Razon told shareholders during the company’s annual stockholders meeting on Thursday, according to local media reports.
The reports indirectly cited the CEO as saying that the launch of the new platform was a way for the company to reach out to a broader market that has been getting familiar with online gaming.
“In a bid to secure the long-term success of our business, we seek to further increase our presence in mass-market gaming through a new electronic gaming product,” Mr Razon reportedly said.
“Our strategy of aggressively pursuing our online business is how we intend to recover any lost revenue,” he added. “This new mainstream brand will complement Solaire Online and is anticipated to bring our brand of online gaming entertainment to Filipinos nationwide.”
In its 2024 annual report, Bloomberry announced that it was developing a new online platform to compete with companies in the electronic gaming sector.
In late December, Solaire Resort said in a post on social media platform LinkedIn that it was recruiting for its “online gaming team”.
Bloomberry’s net income for full-year 2024 fell 72.5 percent year-on-year, to PHP2.62 billion.
Net revenues last year rose 9.7 percent year-on-year, to PHP53.08 billion, and group-wide gross gaming revenue stood at nearly PHP61.69 billion, up 5.8 percent from 2023.
On Thursday, Mr Razon said performance at Solaire North was improving gradually and getting closer to profitability.
“We cannot say exactly when it will return to profitability, but it’s getting closer and closer. Hopefully, as soon as possible, we will be in profitability, similar to how it was here in Solaire Entertainment City in 2013,” he stated.
