China VIP decline to affect the Philippine casino industry a misconception says Bloomberry boss

Chairman and CEO of Bloomberry Resorts Corporation Enrique Razon believes that even if high-spending Chinese players never return to the gaming tables, Philippine gaming will still grow.

Razon in an interview with The Inquirer reiterated that the country have dodged the worst effects of the corruption crackdown in China that had affected the Asian gambling sector and Macau, in particular. One of the reason is because the Philippine casino business models do not rely too much on the promise of revenues from the mainland Chinese clients.

We focused on other high rollers,” Razon told the Inquirer. “We had Chinese coming from Macau, Hong Kong, and we developed a good market in Taiwan. We have a very good market in Malaysia, and then other countries followed.”

Razon’s belief has been supported by double-digit growth in the Philippines gross gaming revenue in 2015. According to Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) chairman Cristino Naguiat, gross gaming revenue from government and private-operated casinos reached PHP130 billion ($2.75b) in 2015, an increase of 17% from 2014. PAGCOR-operated casino showed a 15.75% increase in gaming revenue, while those of the licensees are up 18%.