Covid-19 reminded casinos of the importance of local markets, says PH Resorts COO

Sueiro spoke on a panel at G2E Asia.

08/26/22

José Angel Sueiro, chief operating officer at PH Resorts Group Holdings, said the local market became relevant again for casino operators after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Philippines.- José Angel Sueiro, chief operating officer at PH Resorts Group Holdings, has said that one upshot of the Covid-19 pandemic is that it drew casinos’ attention to their local markets.

Speaking on a panel about market diversification on the second day of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2022, Sueiro said that once casinos realise the importance of their local audience, they can start to look more closely at overseas markets.

He also said that resorts must be honest and transparent about their advantages and disadvantages to position themselves for marketing purposes. As for the growth of online gambling, he said that “the integrated resort experience can expand into the online environment.”

PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc has recently shared its second-quarter results. It’s reported a net loss of PHP224m (US$4m). That’s nearly twofold higher than its loss of PHP95m (US$1.7m) in the second quarter of the year 2021.

The casino operator was heavily affected by the temporary closure of the Donatela Resort & Sanctuary due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the group had no net operating revenue for the first six months of 2022.

Due to the lack of operations, the company’s operating loss narrowed down to PHP39m (US$0.7m). For the first three months of the year, PH Resorts Group had reported a loss of PHP109.1m (US$2m), up from PHP80.9m (US$1.5m) in the previous quarter.

The firm is currently developing the Emerald Bay integrated resort in Cebu, which is due to open its first phase in early 2023. During the presentation of the results, the company said it was in ongoing negotiations with Bloomberry Resorts Corp to invest in PH Resorts units. PH Resorts said it received a “deposit payable” of PHP1bn from Bloomberry Resorts as negotiations between the two parties continued.