Malaysia-based casino electronic games and services supplier RGB International Bhd is on track to achieve in 2023 an annual record of “4,000-gaming machines” sold, with the Philippines leading the way in Asia, said its vice president of sales support and marketing, Chuah Eng Meng (pictured), in an interview with GGRAsia at the 2023 MGS Entertainment Show, a casino trade exhibition and conference in Macau.
“We sold approximately 1,800 gaming machines… in 2019, our best year” up to now, stated Mr Chuah.
“This year, we should be able to cross the 4,000-machine mark… thanks to some of the big orders that we have: a majority of those come from the Philippines,” he added.
The RGB represetative said the firm was “thankful” it has had a presence in the Philippines market “for a very long time”. He stated: “We are in the right place, at the right time, riding on the boom.”
Gaming machine sales have driven most of the group’s revenue for this year, noted Mr Chuah. RGB International also provides technical support and management services for gaming machines, as well as machine leasing.
The company’s gaming machines and support service footprint currently covers 10 markets: its home base Malaysia; the Philippines; Singapore; Cambodia; Laos; Vietnam; Macau; Timor Leste; Nepal, and Myanmar.
In the Philippines, apart from machine sales, RGB International also gives technical support for major slot supplier brands, such as Aristocrat, Light & Wonder and Konami, Mr Chuah told GGRAsia.
“We are really lucky to have them so that we can grow together. I think this year is just the beginning: we will be expecting further growth from the 4,000-machine” sales figure, “for the next couple of years,” he added.
The strong sales this year were thanks to a “pent up demand” for machines, notwithstanding a rise in machine manufacturing costs. Fresh demand had been spurred by Asia’s gaming markets emerging from Covid-19 -related restrictions, and the opening of new casinos.
“There will be more integrated resorts opening [in the Philippines], which we will be benefiting from,” Mr Chuah stated.
During 2024 RGB International will be expanding its sales team to support regional expansion. It also aims to have a new showroom in Manila’s Entertainment City “up and running by the first quarter of 2024”, a space for catering to the needs of machines maintenance and technical support services.
The group also plans to open next year an office in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, to support sales and compliance work. It will complement the work of the group’s Penang headquarters.
“Vietnam and Malaysia are also strong gaming markets for RGB,” said Mr Chuah, But he noted that Cambodia – a market that is reliant on Chinese patrons – is still experiencing “relatively slow recovery” in tourism volumes.
“We are moving the non-profitable machines from Cambodia to the faster-growing markets” in the region, stated Mr Chuah.
In the Macau market RGB International has a long-term presence in terms of sales and technical support, and expects a “nice steady growth” outlook. That is notwithstanding the city’s prevailing 12,000 cap on the aggregate of gaming machines that can be utilised in the market at any one time among the six gaming concessionaires.
“The [Macau casino] operators still need to update their machine floors” and follow “new trends,” favoured by customers, said Mr Chuah. “I think there’s still room for all operators to buy new machines,” he added.
