The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and San Miguel Corporation (SMC) today broke ground for the state gaming firm’s new corporate office building at the Bagong Nayong Pilipino complex in Pasay City.

The PAGCOR Corporate Center – valued at Php2.45 billion – will be fully financed and constructed by SMC at no cost to PAGCOR, said Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco who led the project’s groundbreaking with SMC Chairman Ramon Ang.

During the simple ceremony, Mr. Tengco noted that for over four decades, PAGCOR has operated from various rented spaces under less-than-ideal conditions, with its workforce dispersed across multiple locations.

“Ang araw na ito ay katuparan ng isang pangarap para sa PAGCOR na magkaroon ng sariling tahanan,” he said. “We are truly blessed to witness this historic moment as we lay the groundwork for a vision that reflects our identity, core values and aspirations as an organization.”

The corporate center will have a floor area of 40,000 square meters, with an additional 15,000 square meters designated for comprehensive fit-out.

“Since PAGCOR will not occupy all 40,000 square meters, we plan to lease some of the commercial spaces to generate rental income,” Chairman Tengco said. “These rental earnings should be enough to cover the building’s maintenance costs.”

Mr. Tengco said the agency’s collaboration with SMC exemplifies how private-public partnerships can maximize the potential of government assets to create more economic opportunities.

“The Nayong Pilipino complex, once known for its rich attractions, culture and history, had long lain dormant,” Mr. Tengco said. “Today, it is set to be transformed into a vibrant symbol of progress and opportunity for PAGCOR.”

For his part, SMC Chairman Ramon Ang said the construction of the PAGCOR Corporate Center represents a mutually beneficial partnership between the state gaming firm and the conglomerate.

“This is a mutually beneficial partnership between PAGCOR and SMC,” he said. “While SMC will construct the Corporate Center, we will also use PAGCOR’s Nayong Pilipino property to build infrastructure that will complement airport requirements.”

The PAGCOR Corporate Center was designed by JSLA architectural design firm and will be built by New Golden City Builders. Both companies are known for big-ticket infrastructure projects in the country.

“SMC only commissioned the best architects and construction firms to ensure the project’s completion by 2028,” Mr. Ang added.

The construction of PAGCOR’s Corporate Center is part of the 25-year lease agreement entered into by the state gaming agency with SMC last December 12, 2024.

Aside from funding the building construction, SMC will pay monthly rental fees – with an annual escalation – for the use of PAGCOR’s 13-hectare Nayong Pilipino property for aviation-related projects.

Winlandia, the international online casino with a Nordic twist, has added Swish to its cashier for players in Sweden as part of wider efforts to offer a deeply localised experience in each market it targets.

Swish is one of the most popular payment methods in Sweden, allowing users to make payments directly from their bank account using their mobile phone number. Users simply link Swish to their bank account and can make instant payments straight away. About 80% of the Swedish population is today a user of Swish payments.

While initially used for peer-to-peer payments, today Swish can be used to pay for many different things including online casino deposits.

Winlandia sees payments as a major driver of acquisition and retention and goes to great lengths to offer players the options they want to use for depositing and withdrawing. In Sweden Winlandia offers a seamless customer experience using Pay n Play by Trustly, with Bank ID a deposit or withdrawal are made instantly. In addition to Swish, players in Sweden can use Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Trustly and even Apple Pay.

Adding Swish to its cashier is just one way that Winlandia has localised its offering for players in Sweden. Others include a localised landing page and stocking the lobby with more than 6,500 slot and casino games from in-demand providers such as Pragmatic Play, Play ´n Go and Evolution.

Winlandia, which is powered by the award-winning SkillOnNet platform, also has a dedicated team of customer support agents on hand around the clock to ensure that players in Sweden have the absolute best time when playing at its site.

The online casino has proved to be a big hit since making its debut in Sweden in August 2023, with players drawn to its Nordic charm including plenty of Finnish Sisu.

Christoffer Gronlund, Co-founder & Head of Affiliates at Winlandia, said: “The payment methods offered by the online casino can be the deciding factor in whether players engage with the brand or not and that’s why we are always adding new options to our cashier.

“Swish is hugely popular with people in Sweden with almost 80% of the population using Swish as a service. Our Affiliate and Marketing Partners have addressed their interest in us adding this popular payment method to maximize conversions. As part of our work to continue to localise the Winlandia experience for players in the country, adding Swish was a top priority.

“Players can now use Swish for making payments to Winlandia, taking advantage of its ease of use and speed of deposit. This helps us to deliver the superior player experience needed to engage and entertain players in such a highly competitive market.” 

Jacob Ljunggren, Product Director at Leadstar Media said: “Swish is a crucial payment solution for long-term success in the Swedish market, and we’re pleased to welcome Winlandia to the group of casinos offering this option. We look forward to featuring them in our ongoing Swish withdrawal time tests on Casinodealen.se.”

With Portside Game Assembly, Gamecity Hamburg is welcoming studio heads and directors from successful indie game studios on a conference ship and other extraordinary locations in Hamburg on June 27. Benjamin Laulan, Co-Founder of Evil Empire, (Dead Cells, The Rogue Prince of Persia) will give a keynote on the Triple-i Initiative started by the French studio. At the Triple-i Showcase 2024, over 30 “iii games” were announced in 45 minutes, and 150,000 views were achieved on YouTube alone. Further speaker on board is Philomena Schwab, Founder of Stray Fawn Studio (Dungeon Clawler, The Wandering Village).

Portside Game Assembly celebrates its premiere as B2B-conference for international indie game leaders on June 27. There will be no direct ticket sales for the conference; instead, a curated list of participants will ensure that only studio heads and decision makers attend the conference on board a ship sailing through the port of Hamburg.

At the same time, the Networking Brunch and the Games Industry Party are open as networking events for interested contacts from the games industry to bring platform holders, publishers, and game companies into contact with the international conference participants. Studio leads from Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, France, Spain, Canada, the USA, and Germany are already on board for the conference.

Portside Game Assembly is set to be a platform for decision makers and studio leads to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and face the challenges of the games industry through collaboration.

As the first announced talk of the conference, Benjamin Laulan (Co-Founder of Evil Empire) will present a keynote on the Triple-i Initiative and how to create your own announcement space and talk directly to your audience when you can’t really relate to other existing showcases. In addition, Philomena Schwab (Founder of Stray Fawn Studio & Publishing) will give a short talk about ways for game idea validation.

The program of the Portside Game Assembly will consist of keynotes, short talks, and roundtables.

Selection of already confirmed participants:

• Evil Empire (Dead Cells, The Rogue Prince of Persia) / France
• Stray Fawn Studio (Dungeon Clawler, The Wandering Village) / Switzerland
• The Game Kitchen (Blasphemous I & II) / Spain
• Toukana Interactive (Dorfromantik)/ Germany
• Ghostship Publishing (Deep Rock Galactic) / Denmark
• Landfall Games (Content Warning, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator) / Sweden
• Chasing Carrots (Halls of Torment) / Germany
• Foulball Hangover (Hydroneer) / UK
• Siege Camp (Foxhole) / Canada