Maybank Securities Inc expects the local gaming industry in the Philippines to deliver “at least circa 15 percent” gross gaming revenue (GGR) growth in 2024.

In a Tuesday note, the institution said it maintained a “positive view” on the Philippine gaming sector as it expects GGR growth this year “to be driven by the domestic mass and slots market”, and it sees an “upside from the gradual pick-up in the VIP segment, led by South Korean punters”.

Maybank also anticipates “growth outside” the Entertainment City of large-scale resorts in the Philippine capital, Manila. That will be “driven by the Solaire Resort North opening and a recent surge in e-gaming,” wrote analyst Raffy Mendoza.

GGR in the Philippines – including non-casino operations – grew by about 33 percent year-on-year in 2023, to PHP285.3 billion (US$4.97 billion).

According to Maybank, the “bulk of the growth” was from land-based venues, accounting for circa 80 percent of industry GGR last year, a 23-percent increase from 2022.

The electronic-delivered games segment however “expanded the most” in 2023, growing “3.2 times year-on-year”, to PHP33.2 billion, “resulting in a higher market share of 12 percent from 5 percent”.

“Combined mass tables and slot machines made up 64 percent of Entertainment City’’s GGR in financial year 2023 …, showing the continued rise in domestic demand,” stated Mr Mendoza.

“We believe this trend in mass and slots GGR will continue driven by increasing private consumption,” the analyst said.

“This should bode well for industry players as hold rates for mass and slots are historically less volatile and provided higher margins” compared to the VIP segment, he added.

Maybank expects the VIP contribution to industry GGR “to continue to be dragged by fewer Chinese visitors this year, as Chinese arrivals in the first three months of 2024 “are at just 24 percent” of first-quarter 2019 levels.

“Nevertheless, we see Korean visitors leading the VIP segment’s gradual recovery, with Korean tourist arrivals already reaching 459,000 in the first three months of 2024, 88 percent of first-quarter 2019 levels,” said the institution.

Pagcor expects the nation’s gaming industry to generate PHP336.38 billion in gross gaming revenues this year, a 17.9-percent increase compared with 2023.