The Philippines gaming sector will grow by around 15% year-on-year in 2024, driven by the continued rise in domestic demand, according to investment bank Maybank.
In a Thursday note, analyst Raffy Mendoza also outlined an expected uptick in the VIP segment, although this would be driven by South Korean punters due to ongoing drag in Chinese visitation.
As observed by Mendoza, combined mass tables and slot machine revenues comprised 64% of GGR generated by Manila’s Entertainment City last year, highlighting the continued rise in domestic demand.
“We believe this trend in mass and slots GGR will continue, driven by increasing private consumption,” Maybank said. “This should bode well for industry players as hold rates for mass and slots are historically less volatile and provided higher margins.”
Mendoza said the estimated 15% growth in 2024 will come primarily from domestic demand but also via the gradual pick-up in the VIP segment and growth outside Entertainment City, particularly the upcoming opening of Solaire Resort North.
Although VIP contribution to industry GGR will continue to be dragged by fewer Chinese visitors this year, “we see Korean visitors leading the VIP segment’s gradual recovery, with Korean tourist arrivals already reaching 459,000 in 3M24 (88% of 3M19 levels),” Maybank said.
The bank noted that Korean, Taiwan and ASEAN punters accounted for 47% of Solaire operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp’s VIP GGR in 2023, compared with just 15% in 2019.
RelatedPosts
