Mass-Market Gambling Revenues Continue To Grow In Macau

The shift in Macau’s gambling market from VIP to mass-market gamblers continued in December 2015 according to a note from Hong Kong-based brokerage firm Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd.

Citing unofficial industry returns, the note released by them stated that in December, the gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by mass market gamblers contributed approximately 52 percent to Macau’s overall GGR.

The brokerage firm said that these figures were based on “[Sanford] Bernstein adjustments” by which distortions caused by smoking-related classifications of gambling areas by other operators were adjusted. Sanford Bernstein has estimated that Macau’s total GGR for December was MOP18.34 billion which was a fall of 21.2 percent approximately when compared to the same period in 2014. In line with market predictions, this was the 19th straight month of year-on-year decline in Macau’s GGR.

Bernstein put the Macau’s mass market GGR for December at MOP9.5 billion as compared to MOP8.6 billion in November. December’s mass market GGR was a 3 percent decline based on year-on-year earnings but on a positive note was also a growth of 11 percent based on the previous month’s results. The adjusted VIP GGR for December declined by 35 percent year-on-year to MOP8.8 billion with the junket rolling chip volume dropping by 41 percent year-on-year but was an increase of 13 percent based on the previous month’s results.

In a statement, analysts Vitaly Umansky, Simon Zhang and Bo Wen stated,

We see no near-term recovery in VIP principally due to continuation of the anti-corruption campaign [in mainland China] and junkets being liquidity constrained, with China’s increased oversight of underground banking and Macau government expected to introduce tightened regulation over junket activities.

Sanford Bernstein has also warned of an increase in junket regulation by the government in the light of the junket fraud that was uncovered by the Judiciary Police recently.

The analysts from Sanford Bernstein also looked at the performance of Macau’s biggest casino operators and stated that Sands China gained the highest market share in December increasing by 2.1 percent to 23.7 percent. The second largest operator, Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited increased its market share to 23.1 percent due to a better performance from its high-rolling VIP segment at the Galaxy Macau and StarWorld. The other gainer was Wynn Macau Ltd, gaining 0.4 percent to 9.1 percent on the basis of improvement in its “premium mass” segment.