The Philippines gaming industry is expected to deliver GGR growth of 15% per annum over the medium term, driven by domestic demand and the Korea-led recovery of the VIP segment, says a new research note from Maybank Securities.
According to analysts Miguel Sevidal and Alexa Mae Carvajal, the impressive resurgence of the Philippines gaming sector has been largely off the back of domestic demand, which saw mass tables and slot machines account for 59% of total industry GGR in 1Q23.
However, both mass and slots have further room for growth, the analysts wrote, “as evidenced by the country’s below-average GGR per capita and the increasing wallet share of Entertainment City casinos.”
The orientation toward mass and slots is seen as a significant benefit to the Philippines given that hold rates are less volatile which in turn translates to more stable GGR, said Sevidal and Carvajal. Nevertheless, GGR will also be boosted by the return of VIP play – particularly from South Korea.
“Korea visitors have led the VIP segment’s recovery so far and this trend is set to continue, with Korean tourist arrivals already hitting 552,000 [through May],” they explained.
“The Korean VIP base has more than offset the lackluster recovery of Chinese tourist arrivals, which stood at 87,000 [through May].”
Figures cited by the analysts show the five-month visitation trend of Koreans representing 70% of pre-COVID levels, compared with just 12% for Chinese.
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