Macau reports uptick in mass gaming revenues for Q4

Macau saw an unexpected upswing in mass gaming revenues during Q4 2017, chalking up a 17.1 percent rise to reach MOP$31.7bn ($3.9bn).

Growth in non-VIP baccarat was the main driver reporting an 18.6 percent increase year-on-year, while overall GGR increased by 19.8 percent to hit MOP$72.6bn.

“There has been a clear resurgence in the lower tiers of mass market as we’ve witnessed a significant uptick in low-end patrons, e.g. the Hong Kong ferry terminal has been bursting at the seams more recently,” said Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen.

“If there happens to be no positive adjustment to get to a real mass market growth rate due to reclassification we are still thrilled to see mass market staging a comeback, even at the expense of a deceleration in the rate of growth in VIP.”

Mass growth still did not match that of VIP,which saw a revenue growth of 21.9 percent reaching $5bn, falling short of analyst predictions of 30 percent.

“While we are not yet ready to adjust our 2018 expectations for a potentially-better-than- expected mass market story we are biased to the upside as we think about what 2018 could ultimately look like relative to our initial expectations of ten percent mass market growth this year,” Govertsen added.