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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider Gokongwei takes PhilWeb helm amid AI gaming pivot

Gokongwei takes PhilWeb helm amid AI gaming pivot

Published Aug 28, 2026 11:09 am

Tycoon Lance Y. Gokongwei has been named chairman of the board of directors of PhilWeb Corp. to mark the gaming company’s shift to a supplier of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled online gaming platforms to some of the country’s biggest casinos.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Friday, Aug. 28, PhilWeb said its board of directors approved the relinquishment by Crisanto Roy B. Alcid of his positions as chairman of the board and chief executive officer (CEO) of the corporation, effective Aug. 27, 2026. He will continue to serve as a director of the corporation.

The board also approved the appointment of Gokongwei, already a director of PhilWeb, as chairman of the board, effective Aug. 27, to serve for the remainder of Alcid’s term.

In a separate disclosure, the company said Gokongwei now directly owns 159.53 million shares, equivalent to a 15-percent stake, acquired at ₱8 apiece or a total of ₱2 billion pursuant to the share purchase agreement (SPA) executed last month.

PhilWeb said in a statement that this leadership transition completes the company’s governance restructuring, following Gokongwei’s recent ₱2.02-billion strategic equity investment and his appointment to the board in July.

It noted that the election signals PhilWeb’s definitive shift from capitalization to the aggressive, large-scale execution of its commercial online-led business-to-business (B2B) AI-enabled technology roadmap.

“This transition marks a critical inflection point for our capitalization and operational scale. Our objective is clear: to deploy institutional-grade, AI-powered infrastructure that establishes a new operational standard for security and compliance across the regulated digital ecosystem,” said Gokongwei.

Under Gokongwei’s strategic oversight, PhilWeb is accelerating the deployment of its enterprise AI layer. This technological pivot transitions the company into an institutional-grade digital gaming solutions provider.

The immediate operational mandate focuses on the integration of real-time operational monitoring, algorithmic risk management, regulatory compliance automation, anti-fraud detection, and data-driven customer lifecycle optimization.

“Having Lance Gokongwei step into the chairman role provides the institutional governance required for our next phase of scale. His strategic oversight ensures that our AI infrastructure rollout—specifically engineered to serve the complex backend needs of luxury integrated casino resorts and global platform providers—is executed with absolute capital market discipline,” said PhilWeb President Brian Ng.

The governance upgrade strengthens PhilWeb’s position as the foundational operational backbone for the regulated digital gaming sector.

The company’s AI-driven technology currently powers a premier, interconnected ecosystem of luxury integrated casino resorts and licensed operators, including Okada Manila, Hann Casino, Newport World Resorts, NUSTAR Resort and Casino, FBM Philippines, and PT Gaming.

Furthermore, PhilWeb continues to embed elite global content providers, such as Pragmatic Play and Games Global, into its unified digital infrastructure, securing deep commercial moats and operational dominance in the B2B market. - James A. Loyola

Related Tags

Lance Gokongwei Brian Ng PhilWeb Corporation Crisanto Roy B. Alcid
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