Visa-Free Travel Lifts VIP Gaming Outlook at Bloomberry’s Solaire
Bloomberry Resorts’ Solaire stands to gain from Manila’s newly introduced visa-free entry for Chinese nationals, but analysts warn the upside will be gradual rather than immediate.
Key Takeaways:
- Visa-free entry for Chinese tourists may increase Solaire’s VIP gaming volumes by up to 30% in 2026
- Near-term recovery depends on travel flow resumption and conversion of arrivals into high-margin VIP play
- Industry faces headwinds from slower VIP recovery and operational challenges amid rising costs
VIP Gaming Recovery Tied to Travel Normalization
According to a Maybank Securities report, a faster return of mainland high rollers could lift Solaire’s VIP gaming volumes by as much as 30% in 2026 under a bullish scenario, versus a base-case 7% increase.
Maybank has sharply cut its Bloomberry target price and now models core net losses for fiscal 2025 and 2026, reflecting a collapse in VIP gaming.
VIP gross gaming revenue at Solaire fell about 50% in the first nine months of 2025, and it had higher operating costs tied to the rollout of the MegaFUNalo e-gaming brand and increased depreciation, per AGBrief.
Visa-free entry for Chinese tourists for stays of up to 14 days is viewed as a positive development, as reported by Focus Gaming News, but one that will take quarters to feed through to fly-in VIPs and group visitation.
Headwinds Temper Near-Term Upside
Potential upside is balanced by near-term headwinds including the full ramp-up of Solaire Resort North and execution risk around the company’s eGames platform. The company is also refocusing its gaming portfolio, moving to divest its long-struggling Jeju Sun casino in South Korea, a move intended to strengthen core Philippine operations.
Analyst Raffy Mendoza of Maybank Securities observed, as reported by Inside Asian Gaming, that Entertainment City GGR dropped about 15% year-on-year through nine months of 2025, underscoring how dependent VIP gaming volumes are on cross-border travel patterns.
Investors and operators should treat the policy change as necessary but not sufficient: Recovery will depend on how quickly travel flows resume and Bloomberry’s ability to convert arrivals into higher-margin VIP play and stabilize margins amid elevated costs.
