(Bloomberg) — China-centric online casinos vacated half of their offices in the Philippine capital during the pandemic, as travel restrictions, taxes and precarious relations between the two countries throttled their operations.
They occupied 677,000 square meters of Metro Manila office space in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 1.3 million square meters at the start of 2020, according to Colliers International. Their share of Metro Manila’s office stock fell to 5% from 11%.
Some online gaming operators left because of travel restrictions, new taxes and uncertainty over Philippine-China relations as the Southeast Asian nation is set to elect a new president in May, Dom Fredrick Andaya, senior director at Colliers in Manila, said in a briefing Wednesday.
Pandemic Threatens to Burst Philippines’ Online Gaming Bubble
Pre-pandemic, the $8-billion industry and its tens of thousands of migrant workers boosted property prices across Metro Manila and surrounds. Operators employ mostly mainland Chinese to answer queries and process payments for clients who place bets on live-streamed games of baccarat and Fantan.
Andaya said 18.9% of Manila’s workspace may end up vacant this year and the next, as nearly 1.5 million square meters of office space will be added through 2023. Vacancy may ease should online casinos return and add to demand from outsourcing companies, he said.
As travel restrictions ease, “it’s really up to Philippine-China relations, with respect to the level of tolerance in allowing the industry to prosper,” he said.
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