New figures released this month by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) revealed that overall baccarat revenues in Macau experienced impressive 18.4% year-on-year growth in the final quarter of 2017. The figures demonstrate almost a three-fold increase in its growth rates experienced during the rest of 2017. Between Q1-Q3 2017, Macau’s mass baccarat revenues totaled just 6.5% year-on-year growth and analysts were justifiably encouraged by the excellent finish to the year, resulting in renewed hope for a stronger mass performance in the next 12 months. Mass baccarat revenue for Q4 2017 totalled $2.91 billion, compared with VIP baccarat revenues…

Morgan Stanley Research Asia recently completed a detailed study of the VIP casino players, and our industry in Macau. That study concluded that the significant decline in revenue is directly linked to the drop in Macau’s VIP clientele. Macau used to bring in five times the revenue of Las Vegas but does not have a large customer basis like Las Vegas. The report was compiled by analysts Thomas Allen, Alex Poon and Praveen Choudhary and revealed that Macau derived as much as eighty percent of its gambling revenue from these VIP casino players. Initially analysts believed that VIP customers contributed…

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, DICJ, issued a warning Friday, June 12, 2015 to the public regarding illegal gaming websites. Illegal gambling sites are claiming they are licensed and regulated by Macau’s government, without proper permissions. The government has not issued online gambling licenses to the companies claiming to be regulated. All gambling websites purported to be licensed by Macau are illegal. The DICJ published the warning after several inquiries from the public. The bureau is cooperating with the Judiciary Police to put a stop to the illegal gaming sites including any website that has accepted wagers using the…

iGaming Business – Australian entertainment group Crown Resorts has cited the success of its operations in the Chinese gambling resort of Macau as one of the main reasons behind a significant growth in net profit during the 12 months through to June 30, 2014. The company reported net profit of AUS$655.8 million (€457.1 million/US$611.3 million), an increase of 65.7% on the AUS$395.8 million achieved in the previous year. Revenue at Crown Resorts grew to AUS$3.1 billion, a 6.7% rise year-on-year from AUS$2.9 billion. Elsewhere, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and significant items jumped by 16.7% from AUS$751.9 million last year…

Analysts have been warning for months about the Macau gaming crackdown and a summer slowdown in VIP gaming after officials arrested several local lenders on charges of illegal money laundering. MGM Resorts International, Sands, Wynn Resorts and others with casinos in Macau have been impacted by weakness there. Naturally, revenue for Las Vegas Sands and other Macau-centric casinos collectively fell 3.6% in July to $3.5 billion, Macau officials said recently, led by a slide in high-roller VIP segment gaming. Telsey Advisory Group analyst Chris Jones said Monday that the mass market segment in Macau — tourists and casual middle-class visitors…

Macau Business Daily – Japanese pachinko hall operator Dynam Japan Holdings Co Ltd is still waiting for the government here to approve an application to operate ‘next generation pachinko machines’. The plan, according to Dynam’s chairman Yogi Sato, who was quoted by Hong Kong financial wires and media, is to place up to 100 of these new machines in a new hotel that is scheduled to open in September. While Mr. Sato did not name the property to open in September, Dynam said previously that it belongs to Macau Legend Development Ltd. The group’s Prague Harbourview hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf…

Forbes – Macau’s casino revenue isn’t seven times bigger than that of Las Vegas because more people go there. It’s because players bet more in Macau, and casinos have become increasingly more adept at encouraging that trend to build more mass market revenue that’s more than twice as profitable as VIP play. Mass market revenue is approaching 40% of Macau’s total gaming revenue. Walking the floors of Macau’s major casinos, minimum bets at baccarat table begin at $300 Hong Kong (US$39). There are lower minimums for roulette, the rare crap table, and sometimes for sic bo, a Chinese dice game…

QZ – Last week, the casinos of Macau, the world’s largest center for gambling in terms of revenues, got some bad news: smoking will be banned at all casino tables as of October, a move to protect workers’ health. That’s a problem for the island’s massive casino industry—which generated $45 billion last year, several times that of Las Vegas. Macau depends overwhelmingly on gamblers from the world’s largest nation of smokers—China. The mainland is home to about a third of the world’s smokers. About a quarter of the Chinese population smokes, compared to the global average of a little under…