Philippines gaming conglomerate Leisure & Resorts World Corp (LRWC) has seen its net loss grow by 77.05% to Php223.4 million (US$4.3 million) in the three months to 31 March 2022, blaming the launch of new products and reopening of gaming sites for an increase in operating costs.
The company’s results, which saw revenue slip from Php942 million (US$18.0 million) in 1Q21 to Php929 million (US$17.8 million) this time around, included an increase in the direct cost of the minimum guarantee fee it pays to Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR from its recently released product, online traditional bingo, plus an increase in manpower due to the reopening of sites in the casino and retail segments.
EBITDA loss grew substantially year-on-year from Php13 million (US$248,000) to Php151 million (US$2.9 million).
Nevertheless, LRWC said it is “positive that as the economy recovers from the pandemic and while the new [bingo] product gains its market popularity, there will be more player traffic in the company’s online entertainment platform in the coming quarters.”
LRWC is a diversified gaming company whose interests include bingo, leasing slot machines and the operation of slot arcades on behalf of PAGCOR.
The company announced last September that it had been granted accreditation from PAGCOR to launch a new retail and online sportsbook for local users – the third such company to receive online sports betting accreditation alongside MegaSportsWorld and Jade SportsBet.
It has also outlined plans to build a casino resort on Boracay.