Philippines to become regional leader in GGR, analysts say
The country is competing with Singapore to become to lead gross gaming revenue.
The Philippines.- A swift easing of Covid-19 countermeasures at the beginning of the year, the introduction of PIGOs (Philippine inshore gaming operator businesses), and new airports in Cebu and Clark could all help the Philippines compete with Singapore as the region’s leader in gross gaming revenue over the next few years.
That’s according to a report by industry consultancy GCG Gaming Advisory Services. It says the Philippines is recovering to pre-pandemic levels well before other markets and should reach 2019’s GGR of US$5.01bn in 2023. It expects the Philippine gaming market to grow to annual GGR of US$10bn by 2027.
It estimates GGR of about US$1.1bn to US$1.3bn for the fourth quarter of this year and in the range of US$3.9bn to US$4bn for all of 2022. That includes revenue from the country’s licenced bingo operations, online gaming and e-sabong.
The Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) has reported that gross gaming revenue in the third quarter of the year came to PHP49.36bn (US$860.7m). That’s a rise of 7.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 110.4 per cent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s casino duopoly – Marina Bay Sands run by a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corp, and Resorts World Sentosa, run by Genting Singapore – grossed slightly more than US$788m. Macau posted GGR of US$688.4m.
GBGC has previously told Focus Gaming News it sees the Philippines as the most serious contender to Macau’s gaming thanks to having several integrated resorts to rival Macau. It also recently allowed licence holders to begin online gaming operations, which GBGC said gives it an advantage over Macau’s concessions, althiugh Macau retains the geographical advantage of its proximity to mainland China.
