Malaysia-based casino electronic games and services supplier RGB International Bhd says it plans to open this quarter a new facility in the Philippine capital, Manila.
The space encompasses a new showroom, as well as “training hub for customers, and a repair centre,” said the firm’s senior vice president of sales services and marketing, Chuah Eng Meng (pictured right), in an interview with GGRAsia.
The new facility, covering about 700 squares metres (7,535 sq. feet), will be located near the Entertainment City casino zone in Manila. The move aims to “support the company’s regional expansion and ensure” that the business growth “will continue” in coming years, stated the executive.
Mr Chuah explained that RGB plans to offer a training hub in Manila for its customers, as well as a repair centre, in order to “reduce downtime” for its clients’ EGMs.
“We will be able to repair and provide spare parts within hours to local casino resorts if they have an issue with their machines,” stated Mr Chuah. “This is a big advantage compared to other solutions, where a client would have to source parts from other places. By offering these services, we would be able to reduce their downtime.”
RGB International announced in late May that it had been chosen by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) – the regulator and also an operator of casinos in that country – to supply the latter with a total of 1,968 electronic gaming machines (EGMs).
The total value of the contract is just above US$81.3 million. The order is for EGMs of third-party brands, namely: 888 units of Light & Wonder; 888 units of Aristocrat; 150 units of Konami; and 42 units of KL Saberi, according to a company filing.
Pagcor had announced an upgrade to its Casino Filipino chain, including the acquisition of more than 3,300 new slot machines. The modernisation effort was said to be done before launching a sell-off initiative for the Casino Filipino network.
“We were in the right place at the right time, and able to provide a one-stop solution for many of our customers” in the Philippines, outlined Mr Chuah.
RGB’s senior vice president said the company was on track to achieve in 2024 an annual record in terms of gaming machines sold.
“Last year, we did about 4,000 machines; I think we are close to surpassing that number and we are only halfway through the year,” observed Mr Chuah.
He said the company’s business was expected to “continue to grow over the next three to five years,” supported by the launch of new casino resorts in the Philippines, as well as the recovery in other markets, including Macau, Cambodia and Malaysia.
“We expect to show healthy, consistent growth from here onwards,” he concluded.
RGB reported revenue of MYR210.1 million (US$44.5 million) for the first quarter of 2024, up 120.8 percent from a year ago. The firm posted a first-quarter profit attributable to its shareholders of just below MYR22.2 million.
In April, RGB said one of its units acquired 86 gaming machines operated in the Philippines, for a consideration of just over US$2.2 million. The group is entitled to a 20-percent share of the winnings from the 86 machines, net of relevant taxes and joint expenses, said the company at the time.
