Metro Manila casinos are “currently allowed to operate at limited capacity,” said the Philippine gaming regulator, in response to an enquiry from GGRAsia.
The move followed an easing in Covid-19-related restrictions in Metro Manila. Beginning on May 15, Metro Manila and its four adjacent provinces – Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal – were put under general community quarantine “with heightened restrictions”. They will be kept under such status at least until May 31.
There was no information provided to GGRAsia by the gaming regulator regarding the precise date resumption of casino operations had been permitted; whether venues had taken up the option; and if so, what percentage of capacity was prescribed.
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Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, the operator of the Resorts World Manila casino complex in the Philippine capital, recorded net gaming revenues of PHP9.4 billion (US$196.3 million) in full-2020, despite being subjected to forms of government-mandated lockdown throughout the year, due to efforts to stem the further spread of Covid-19 locally.
Resorts World Manila (pictured in a file photo) is a venture between the Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc and Hong Kong-listed Genting Hong Kong Ltd.
Alliance Global mentioned the net gaming revenue result in a press release filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday. It did not provide a comparison with Travellers International’s performance in 2019.
The Philippine casino sector produced PHP25.74 billion (US$536.2 million) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the first quarter this year, according to data released earlier this week by that country’s gaming regulator. The figure excludes revenue from bingo operations and from electronic game parlours.
The GGR tally for the three months to March 31 was down 43.9 percent in year-on-year terms, showed the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), an operator of public-sector casinos as well as the regulator and licensor of private-sector venues. The overall GGR figure however was up by 19.0 percent in quarterly terms.
Commercial casinos linked to Entertainment City, a special development zone for gaming resorts in the capital Manila, produced just below PHP21.12 billion in GGR in the January to March period, down 37.7 percent compared with the prior-year period, but a sequential increase of 25.0 percent.
May 4, 2021
In the Philippines and the giant Resorts World Manila and Solaire Resort and Casino properties have reportedly followed their neighboring Okada Manila venue in being officially licensed to offer online gaming to domestic punters.
According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, the authorizations under the Philippine Inland Gaming Operator (PIGO) scheme were revealed by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the nation’s Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCor) regulator, Andrea Domingo. The source detailed that such licenses are to give the venues the ability to offer a wide range of iGaming entertainment including video slots and live-dealer games to afficionados in the Philippines that have first registered.