Okada Manila Receives Approval To Launch Online Gaming Operations For Filipinos

Summary

• Okada Manila has been approved to offer online games to domestic players
• The company already completed the soft launch of its online casino
• Okada Manila’s gross gaming revenue dropped in Q1 of 2022

Universal Entertainment Corp, the parent company of Okada Manila, has announced that the casino resort has been granted approval by the Philippine government to offer online gaming for customers in the country.

Okada Manila recently conducted a soft launch for its newest offering, with a full launch expected in late April. The resort will be running 80 online-play slot machines and eight online-play live-dealer tables, including six baccarat and two roulette. That’s in addition to what is currently being offered in its brick-and-mortar casino. By the end of this month, Okada Manila will expand its online gaming offering to 150 machines and 14 live dealer tables.

In a release, Universal Entertainment stated that Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc., the operating unit of Okada Manila, had complied with all regulatory requirements and passed the necessary tests conducted by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the country’s gambling regulator.

Casinos offering online gaming are granted licenses in the Philippines under the Philippine Inland Gaming Operator (PIGO) scheme. It was introduced in late 2020, with the initial intent of allowing land-based casinos to still earn revenue despite the temporary closure of their physical venues due to the pandemic.

Now, the scheme has become a relevant revenue stream for the industry and the government after the program was expanded to include not only the VIPs but all domestic players. Numerous operators now offer online gaming in the country, the first ones being DFNN and PhilWeb, followed by Resorts World Manila and Solaire Resort & Casino. More operators are expected to apply for a license as online gaming continues to enjoy increasing popularity across the globe.

Okada Manila Records Drop in Quarterly GGR

Meanwhile, Universal Entertainment Corp also announced that Okada Manila’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) suffered a quarter-on-quarter decline of 14.1 percent to just over PHP6.02 billion ($115.7 million) for the first quarter of 2022. During the last two quarters of 2021, Okada Manila had enjoyed sequential GGR growth. The latest figure still represents a year-on-year increase of 17.6 percent.

Okada Manila had been operating at limited capacity until March this year. The restrictions have since been removed and the casino resort is now back to normal operations with Metro Manila now placed under alert level 1.