Operators concerned about oversupply
The capital city of the Philippines has reached its limit for casino licenses—at least for the next five years. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. instituted the cap in response to concerns about oversupply in the market.
PAGCOR Chairwoman Andrea Domingo said the four licensees from Manila’s Entertainment City filed a request for the moratorium in March. “We are looking at protecting those who have taken a risk earlier, who have invested a lot of money,” said Domingo.
She added that the state-run regulator recently denied a U.S. company’s bid for a gaming license in metropolitan Manila, despite its offer to invest more than the required $1 billion for integrated resorts at Entertainment City.
“We don’t want too much proliferation of casinos,” Domingo said.
Presently two casino resorts are fully operational in Entertainment City, and a third just opened. Bloomberry Resorts was the first in with its Solaire Casino and Resort, which debuted March 2013. Melco Crown’s City of Dreams Manila opened in December 2014. And Tiger Resort’s Okada Manila began a phased opening in December. Additional licensees there are Travellers International Hotel Group, a joint venture between the Alliance Global Group and Malaysian operator Genting, which plans to open Westside City Resorts World by 2021.
According to the Review, the four licensees each may open two facilities each with approval from PAGCOR and local authorities. In 2009, Travellers opened Resorts World Manila at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
But the opening of the $2.4 billion Okada Manila with room for 3,000 gaming machines and 500 tables, could take a bite out of overall revenues in the jurisdiction. As a result, local brokerage RCBC Securities forecasts growth at Solaire, City of Dreams Manila and Resorts World Manila will dip by 8 percent this year from 17 percent last year.
