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The Philippines
AsiaSoutheast Asia

Philippines bets big on dethroning Singapore as Asia’s No 2 casino hub

  • Alejandro Tengco, head of state regulator Pagcor, said Manila is counting on a slew of new integrated resorts and casinos to boost tourist arrivals
  • ‘If Singapore doesn’t expand, they will plateau. Don’t be surprised if next year we will surpass them,’ he added

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The Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino in Singapore. Photo: Bloomberg
Bloomberg
The Philippines can overtake Singapore as soon as next year as Asia’s second-largest gambling destination after Macau, the head of Manila’s gaming agency said, with new integrated resorts seen boosting visitors and offsetting a decline in Chinese tourist arrivals.
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A new integrated resort by billionaire Enrique Razon’s Bloombery Resorts Corp. will open in Manila later this year, while up to eight more casino projects are being planned, Alejandro Tengco, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of state regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., or Pagcor, said in an interview at his office on Tuesday. The regulator also plans to sell state-run casinos by no later than early 2026, he said.

“If Singapore doesn’t expand, they will plateau. Don’t be surprised if next year we will surpass them,” Tengco said. The Philippines expects gross gaming revenue to reach a new high of 336 billion pesos (US$6.1 billion) this year, up from last year’s record 285 billion pesos.

Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority said it has no comment when Bloomberg News asked regarding Tengco’s remarks and referred to the financial statements of Genting Singapore Ltd and Las Vegas Sands Corp for the revenues of the two integrated resorts in the city state.

Tengco estimates Singapore’s annual gross gaming revenue to be around US$6 billion.

Manila is counting on its integrated resorts and casinos to help boost tourist arrivals hit hard during the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the country is targeting 7.7 million foreign tourists after drawing in 5.45 million in 2023, still below the pre-pandemic level of 8.26 million in 2019.

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