Malaysia-listed gaming equipment supplier RGB International Bhd has a unit stepping into the online gaming space in the Philippines as an accredited business-to-business (B2B) gaming content provider – a fresh path for the company.
That is according to Chuah Hui Jing (pictured), an executive director at RGB, in an interview with GGRAsia at the recent Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia casino trade show and conference in Macau.
RGB Ltd (Philippine Branch) is listed – on a May 28 document of the country’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) – as a gaming content affiliate for that nation’s online sector, across seven content channels, including electronic casino games.
The same Pagcor document also lists RGB Ltd (Philippine Branch) as an accredited game aggregator, although the regulator’s records indicated the company had not yet commenced operations in that capacity as of May 28.
The move comes as gaming suppliers increasingly seek exposure to the Philippines’ online gaming market, even as regulators have tightened oversight of certain payment channels and customer acquisition practices.
Ms Chuah stated: “We’re going to start distributing Light & Wonder [Inc’s] online games.”
“So, I think this will be our first step forward into the online space. And for Light & Wonder, we’re exclusive distributor for them in the Philippines, so helping land-based casinos bridge the gap between online and land-based gaming,” she added.
“Hopefully, down the line, we’ll get other brands” in RGB’s online-content distribution network, “because now we’ve got the B2B licence and so we’re accredited to provide online games,” Ms Chuah noted.
She described online gaming as a new business segment for RGB, adding that the company viewed it as an avenue for future growth.
Land-based content
Pagcor reported a 15.9 percent year-on-year decline in aggregate first-quarter gross gaming revenue (GGR), driven by a decline in revenue in online and in land-based casinos.
Despite softer first-quarter industry revenue in the Philippines, the country remains a key market for RGB, as Ms Chuah said operators continued to invest in refreshing casino floors and upgrading game offerings.
“All these IRs [integrated resorts] need to refresh their [gaming] floors every now and then to keep customers,” she told GGRAsia.
The machine “replacement rate… is 8 percent to 10 percent” annually, by a “conservative” estimate, for the gaming floors of major integrated resorts in Manila, Ms Chuah suggested.
She said RGB is committed to working with the land-based casinos on ensuring “high-quality” game content, and helping operators to achieve a better synergy between the land-based and online gaming that many are permitted to offer concurrently. That is helped by RGB’s significant presence in Asia-Pacific markets.
“Our TSM [technical support and management] segment provides machine concession programmes through partnerships with licensed operators, with over 3,400 active EGMs [electronic gaming machines] deployed across 36 outlets in Asia,” including in the Philippines, she said.
“This allows us to better understand the local market dynamics and game performance, enabling us to provide data-driven recommendations to customers, [and] optimise machine mix and game selection,” Ms Chuah stated.
The company is looking forward to supplying gaming machines to a number of new Philippines land-based venues, including the coming Manila casino complex Westside Resort later this year, according to the executive.
Westside Resort is a casino complex being developed by Travellers International Hotel Group in Manila’s Entertainment City.
Vietnam opportunities
Elsewhere in Asia, RGB sees Vietnam as the “next focus” in terms of land-based gaming business opportunities, especially with the local government’s extension for five years – and expansion venue-wise – of a pilot programme allowing economically-qualified Vietnamese citizens to gamble at designated casino resorts.
“Given its location, [The Grand] Ho Tram will be an interesting pilot to look at and we will monitor closely,” Ms Chuah said.
The Grand Ho Tram – located southeast of Ho Chi Minh City – is now able to accept bets from qualified local players under Vietnam’s refreshed and expanded pilot scheme for locals play.
Vietnam’s Sun Group is scheduled to open its US$2-billion casino resort at Van Don, in Quang Ninh province, by the second quarter of 2032, as per reports from a number of local media outlets in September last year. The Van Don gaming venue has also been permitted to offer gambling to suitably-affluent locals, for five years from the date the casino receives its licence.
“Vietnam is entering a new phase in its casino policy that will reshape how integrated resorts will operate over the next decade and we think there’s so much potential in there. There are a few new projects coming up there, so we’re also supplying to those new projects as well,” Ms Chuah stated.
