PhilWeb investing P100M in gaming device maker

Publicly listed gaming solutions provider PhilWeb Corp. will invest up to P100 million in a new firm that will manufacture gaming terminals for its local network of e-Games cafés and its various international businesses.

To be named PhilWeb Gaming Solutions Corp., the company will primarily serve its parent firm’s 262 e-Games outlets and position itself to compete in the booming market for gaming terminals worldwide.

The gaming terminals will enable PhilWeb to offer devices that tightly integrate all its gaming software, while improving security and functionality in the gaming experience, the company said in a statement over the weekend.

“We are prepared to put into this business up to P100 million over the next few years,” PhilWeb president Dennis Valdes said.

He said the new firm would be headed by gaming industry veteran Joe Pisano, who was recently named one of the top 50 most influential persons in the gaming industry by Inside Asian Gaming magazine.

“Joe Pisano has been a friend for many years and his regional experience will prove invaluable as we grow in Asia-Pacific,” Valdes said.

Pisano is also president of Jade Entertainment and Gaming Inc., a regional distributor for the world’s leading manufacturers of equipment used in the gaming industry, like IGT, Novomatic and FutureLogic.

“I’m very bullish on our new venture, as this device will significantly improve the gaming experience for our over 40,000 customers per day, who play on our e-Games network of close to 6,000 terminals,” Valdes said.

He said the devices would also be “greatly appreciated” in Guam, Timor Leste, Cambodia, Laos and other countries where PhilWeb has business activities.

For his part, Pisano said he was “pleased to start a new venture with PhilWeb, as their spectacular growth over the past years had shown that they were the right partner in Asia-Pacific.