Last year, Global Gaming Business asked Greg Hawkins, then chief operating officer at Bloomberry’s Solaire North integrated resort, whether online gaming is a threat. “It’s an opportunity,” he replied. Now as Bloomberry’s group president and COO, Hawkins is doubling down on that opportunity in Asia’s biggest legal online gaming market.
“Online presents very big upside if we can execute properly. And we’re at a point now where technically we have the ability to execute properly, which means effective marketing. So that’s a significant focus,” Hawkins says in an exclusive interview with iGaming Business.
In July, Bloomberry officially launched FUNaloMAX, an online mass market platform built on in-house technology.
bloomberry’s funalomax igaming platform appeals to mass market online players.“Online has been about ensuring that we have strong stability on the platforms that support our online consumer experiences,” Hawkins says. “Solaire Online, which is well established as an online brand, speaks to the Solaire premium gaming experience. Then FUNaloMax, which is a product of Solaire so it gives it that credibility, is very much focused on that broader mass online market.”
Under Hawkins’ stewardship, in an acting capacity since December 2024 that became official in June last year, Bloomberry has revamped its online business. It launched MegaFUNalo in mid-2025 as a mass market gaming and entertainment platform, complementing Solaire Online, launched in 2021 when regulator Pagcor licensed Philippine Inland Gaming Operators (PIGOs) to help land-based casinos cope with Covid pandemic restrictions.
Third party ‘teething problems’
MegaFUNalo, using third-party technology, featured live and digital casino games, arcade games, carnival games and even movies. “We quickly recognised some technical teething problems,” mainly regarding “the guest experience”, Hawkins says.
“So behind the scenes really has been looking at the platform that our online systems sit on.” That process began late last year and produced FUNaloMAX. Solaire Online will move to an in-house platform this quarter, Hawkins says.
“We’re only stepping now into the active marketing of FUNaloMAX, so that will very much ramp up over the next couple of months into the new year, which would include awareness branding, as well as direct marketing offers to the database,” Hawkins says. “A lot of that is rebate and other offers to initiate a gaming experience.”
Global iGaming market intelligence platform Blask calls FUNaloMAX “a fast-growing niche challenger” in the broadly fragmented Philippine market. At the end of July, a month into its launch, FUNaloMAX ranked 70th of 335 Philippine market brands Blask tracks.
Righting the flagship
Bloomberry’s second quarter results show signs of a turnaround from 2025’s full year loss of PHP2.8 billion (US$45.4 million), despite a challenging Philippine market.
Much of the 2025 decline occurred at Solaire Entertainment City, longtime Philippine gaming market leader. Righting Bloomberry’s flagship IR has been a priority for Hawkins.
Reversing lossES at solaire entertainment city requires “a proper focus on cost management and capital expenditure management”, says bloomberry group president and coo greg hawkins.Solaire Entertainment City GGR fell 27% year-on-year in Q2 last year, with VIP cratering 62%, mass tables off 9% and slots down 16%; this year Q2 GGR rose 18%, VIP up 81%, mass tables ahead 8% and slots gaining 6%, even though cumulative Entertainment City GGR fell 1%. Last year Q2 property EBITDA fell 61% to PHP1.7 billion; this year, it rose 40% to PHP2.4 billion as margins rebounded from 20.8% to 26%.
“The relevant margins in the business required a proper focus on cost management and capital expenditure management,” Hawkins says. “So that’s been an area of focus, from my perspective, to ensure we’re fully engaged across our management teams on cost and margins as much as we are on top line and GGR growth.”
Post-POGO hangover
Externally, “The broader economy and local economy has been softer than what it has been historically, and at the same time we were still working our way through that post-POGO era,” Hawkins says, referring to Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators that brought hundreds of thousands of mainly Chinese expats to the Philippines working in overseas online gaming enterprises. Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr banned POGOs in 2024, amid pressure from Beijing and allegations of widespread criminal activity.
“The post-POGO environment is very different. There’s no doubt a lot of the revenue generation wasn’t just existing within the VIP segment. It was quite a cash-rich environment at that point in time, flowing through to other parts of the business. So post-POGO presents different opportunities for companies, and that the ability to strategically adapt is what we’re focused on.”
This year adds the challenge of conflict in the Gulf region. “When the Middle East crisis first started, there was an immediate flow through that we felt,” Hawkins says. “We’ve come through that and the businesses have adapted, but cost of living pressures, particularly fuel, are still a close watch.”
Broad local, global horizons
More broadly, Hawkins says, “The scale of the market in Metro Manila and in the Philippines generally [is] still very, very significant because of the population growth and the propensity to want entertainment and gaming experiences. For such a large population, the opportunity is still there, whether it’s niche or large scale, if executed.”
Hawkins also believes, “The international market is the one with very big upside for the country as a whole, as well for the integrated resource sector, but it’s a combination of country positioning, infrastructure development and a collaborative approach” needed for success.
“Entertainment City was clearly evolved from a strategic mindset of developing a precinct to grow tourism inbound into the Philippines and to provide investment and job opportunities, stimulate inbound in international and domestic tourism, all within the confines of a precinct,” Hawkins says.
“The foundations are all there, the investment’s been made. So it’s moving into that next stage of building the international stay profile for the properties here, which requires a concerted effort from government as much and in conjunction with the private [sector] and licensed operators here.”