Regulator Predicts Bountiful Year Despite Coronavirus
The Philippines casino regulatory body is donating around 40 million dollars to its federal government to help fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the turn of events following the emergence of the coronavirus, and the fact that the global health and financial systems are in turmoil, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) insists that 2020 will be a great year for the industry. Currently, the PAGCOR overs eight casinos, and several other smaller casino venues, in addition to the casino resorts in Manila’s Entertainment City.
The four integrated resorts in Entertainment City made up a huge chunk of the 2019 Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) The four casinos namely; Solaire, Resorts World, Okada, and City of Dreams, won $3.23 billion.
Andrea Domingo, PAGCOR Chairperson, has issued a 2020 GGR ultimatum of $5.66 billion. That’s almost a 17% increase on 2019’s casino and online gaming win, which was around $4.85 billion.
Hold On A Minute
Despite Domingo’s mega projection, there are several factors that will prevent the actualization of his $5.6 billion realizations.
The most glaring factor is the coronavirus pandemic. Although several of the leading casinos in Entertainment City still remain open, the WHO reports that the Philippines is home to 52 confirmed cases of the virus, two of which have resulted in death.
“The number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in the Philippines is rising, and President Rodrigo Duterte already declared a state of public health emergency because of this,” Domingo said. “We want to help the concerned agencies in the fight against and containment of this deadly disease.”
Nevertheless, while brick and mortar stores might suffer from the viral outbreak, online casinos may benefit from it going forward.
“In the Philippines, it’s a regulated online market, and there is a fair amount of volume throughout Asia going through those Philippine servers,” activist investor Jason Ader said. “Since the coronavirus, travel has been constrained in Macau and throughout the region, and there’s been a significant surge in online play on those servers.”
