The promoter of the Okada Manila casino resort (pictured) in the Philippine capital reported first-quarter 2023 gross gaming revenue (GGR) that rose 10.2 percent sequentially. Measured in year-on-year terms, GGR nearly doubled for the three months to March 31, as revenue increased across all gaming segments, according to a Thursday announcement.
Casino GGR for the first quarter of 2023 was about PHP11.57 billion (US$209.5 million), up from PHP10.50 billion in the three months ended December 31, 2022. The latest quarterly figure was up 92.1 percent compared to PHP6.02 billion in the opening quarter of last year.
For the latest reporting quarter, total resort revenue was almost PHP12.61 billion, up 9.1 percent sequentially and a 97.0-percent jump from a year earlier.
Okada Manila’s adjusted segmental earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first three months of 2023 rose 17.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, to almost PHP3.33 billion, and improved by 189.0 percent versus the prior-year period.
VIP table game GGR at Okada Manila rose both sequentially and in year-on-year terms, to PHP4.51 billion. The result compared to VIP table game GGR of PHP3.60 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, and PHP2.54 billion in the initial three months of 2022.
First-quarter 2023 mass table game GGR remained stable quarter-on-quarter, but it increased by 105.7 percent year-on-year, to almost PHP3.16 billion.
Gaming machine GGR improved by 3.3 percent sequentially, to PHP3.91 billion in the initial three months of 2023. The figure doubled from the PHP1.95 billion achieved in the prior-year period.
Universal Entertainment did not give commentary in its Thursday announcement on reasons for the overall first quarter improvement.
Okada Manila was permitted from mid-April 2022 to operate online casino business from its bricks-and-mortar premises.
Universal Entertainment announced last month that one of its affiliate companies was planning to develop a plot of land close to the Okada Manila casino resort.
Also last month, Universal Entertainment said it was seeking to terminate a deal with United States-listed 26 Capital Acquisition Corp that would involve the listing in the U.S. of the operator of the Okada Manila.
26 Capital – a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on the Nasdaq stock market in the U.S. – said in a statement to GGRAsia that it was pursuing legal action against four entities linked to Universal Entertainment because they “were not honouring their contractual obligations” regarding the deal.
