Amid declining casino revenues, Razon-led Bloomberry Resort Corp., owner and operator of the two Solaire and the Jeju Sun integrated resorts, is rolling its dice in the online gaming table.
Sharing its online gaming plan with stock analysts, Bloomberry said it will fully launch its online gaming platform, a mobile app, by the third quarter of this year.
Unicapital Securities Inc. Analyst Jeri R. Alfonso said Bloomberry management intends its online gaming segment to contribute the equivalent of five percent to seven percent of Solaire Resort Entertainment City’s total gross gaming revenues (GGR).
This is potentially about ₱2.66 billion to ₱3.72 billion, as Bloomberry reported that Solaire Entertainment City generated ₱53.2 billion in GGR last year. Alfonso pointed out that this is not enough to overtake the VIP, mass and slots segments of Bloomberry’s casinos.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the firm is “developing digital channels as additional source of revenues, on top of physical facilities and also amid competition from other market players in both ecosystems.”
Chinabank Capital Corporation Managing Director Juan Paolo Colet said, “Bloomberry’s foray into online gaming will create a new revenues source for the company that should help mitigate the temporary weakness in its land-based casinos.”
“The domestic online gaming industry still has room for growth, but the field is dominated by DigiPlus, so Bloomberry has to be very creative and aggressive to attract players,” he added.
Philstocks Financial Research Manager Japhet Tantiangco said that, "Based on DigiPlus' financial performance, we can say that competition in the online gaming industry is still loose which also means that there are still a lot of opportunities. So getting into this space could help BLOOM in its financial performance."
“While this is expected to drive growth, Bloomberry will likely incur higher opex (operating expenses), particularly in promotions and marketing, as it ramps up customer acquisition efforts to catch up with its competitors,” said Alfonso.
She noted that, “We believe the full impact of the online gaming app won’t be realized until 2026, given that operations are set to roll out in the third quarter.
For its part, Abacus Securities Corporation said, “While the positives can be there with the ramp up of Solaire North and its online gaming platform into GGR, there are expected birth pains at least for the most part of this year.”
"Considering BLOOM's significant double-digit decline in the fourth quarter of 2024, the effect of the platform launch may take a while to contribute to the firm's revenues, espectially since BLOOM still largely relies on its physical operations for daily foot traffic and GGR increases."
Alfonso also warned that, “regulatory risks remain a concern. The Palace says that the government continues to review local online gaming regulations.”