SM's Belle Corp. pauses online gaming push

GMA Network

4 days ago

Belle Corp., a subsidiary of SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), has paused its prospects of entering online gaming, as it said it is now on a wait-and-see stance as lawmakers take on proposals to either impose stricter regulations or ban the industry as a whole.
According to SMIC president and chief executive officer Frederic DyBuncio, Belle already has an internet gaming license (IGL) as part of its physical license, which it is considering given the boost in online gaming.
'Right now we are thinking of setting up our own online gaming, but we put that on a bit of a pause to see what happens with the regulations, but we're hopeful that the regulations will help us, moving forward, and go back to the physical gaming,' he told reporters in Pasay City.
'We do have IGL license as part of our physical license, and that's something which we are looking at. We wanted to wait and see first how the regulations will affect us,' he added.
This comes as a number of lawmakers have pushed for a ban given concerns that addiction is soaring, with more gamblers drawn to online, even accelerated further by advertisements on social media and e-wallet platforms.
Several lawmakers have also proposed stricter regulations for online gambling, as they said a total ban would only lead to the public heading to illegal operations.
The Department of Health (DOH) has flagged online gambling as a health issue, with President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. saying he will study calls to ban the industry.
Belle Corp. is engaged in the property development, primarily in the high-end leisure market, and holds various investment holdings including the development of an integrated gaming resort, the City of Dreams Manila Entertainment Complex, and the Tagaytay Highlands residential and mixed-use mountain resort.
'Belle is kinda affected by the online gaming. The revenues of Belle is actually back to the pre-pandemic level. It hasn't grown as fast, obviously, you know, as the online gaming, but we will see what happens to the regulation when that changes,' DyBuncio said.
Belle Corp.'s first-half consolidated net income stood at P801 million, down 9% from P882.4 million, as consolidated revenues stood by 10% to P2.474 billion from P2.752 billion last year.
Its gaming revenue share for the second quarter fell 18% to P772.3 million from P943 million the same quarter last year.
DyBuncio said the company is also awaiting guidance from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) regarding the second casino resort it plans to operate in Clark, Pampanga.
SMIC posted a 6% growth in its first-half net income to P42.6 billion, as consolidated revenues increased by 6% to P319.2 billion.
Moving forward, DyBuncio said SMIC is optimistic that the company will post a stronger income for the second half, as seen historically.
The company in April said it will focus on remaining agile this year, even as the country's fundamentals remain sound amid the ongoing global tensions brought about by the tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump. — RF, GMA Integrated News