Philippines poised to be region GGR leader says consultancy

Nov 23, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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The Philippine gaming sector could be “competing with Singapore” for the top gross gaming revenue (GGR) position regionally over the next few years, following a rapid recovery from Covid-19 disruptions, suggests industry consultancy GCG Gaming Advisory Services Pty Ltd.

It estimated the Philippine industry would generate overall GGR of approximately “US$1.1 billion to US$1.3 billion” for the fourth quarter this year, with the 2022 aggregate to be within the range “US$3.9 billion to US$4.0 billion”.

Its figures included revenue from the country’s licensed bingo operations, electronic gaming parlours and from “e-sabong” betting business, the latter involving cockfighting events presented online.

“The Philippines is quickly recovering to 2019 levels, well before other markets,” said GCG, adding that while 2022 was “still not at 2019 levels of US$5.01 billion,” the latter “should be reached in 2023”.

“The Philippines enjoys a strong locals market, a strong expat[riate] community” including people from South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan, and had “fully-open international borders” added the analysis.

“Strong regulations, introduction of PIGO [Philippine Inshore Gaming Operator business], and new airports in Cebu and Clark, all indicate that the Philippines will be competing with Singapore for the top GGR positions over the next few years,” the consultancy remarked.

It expected the Philippines gaming market to increase to an annual GGR of “US$10 billion” for full-year 2027.

Macau lagged behind regional peers Singapore and the Philippines in terms of casino GGR performance in the three months to September 30, according to figures compiled by GGRAsia.

According to data from the Philippine regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), in the third quarter the country’s casino sector – i.e. excluding bingo, gaming parlours and e-sabong – produced GGR of approximately US$860.7 million.

Singapore’s casino duopoly – Marina Bay Sands, run by a unit of Las Vegas Sands Corp, and Resorts World Sentosa, run by Genting Singapore Ltd – generated combined gaming revenue of just above US$788 million in the same period. In Macau, casino GGR for the third quarter was US$688.4 million.

Macau has been following mainland China’s “dynamic zero” policy in dealing with Covid-19, while most other Asian jurisdictions have moved to a living-with-Covid-19 strategy, with eased travel rules, which has coincided with improvement in volume of inbound tourists.

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