It has been a while since casino venues in Macau reported satisfactory numbers and announced that the revenues were decent. It seems like November is just another month that continues the tendency for poor revenues. According to the information released a couple of weeks ago, October has been the worst month so far but unfortunately the first half of November did not indicate any signs of improvement.
As mentioned above, October’s revenue was the worst since gambling regulators keep a record of monthly and yearly revenues in the Asian gambling Mecca. Although experts were well aware of the fact that such a severe crisis can not be easily handled, they were impatient to see if there is a positive change in the revenue during the first two weeks of November.
Unfortunately, reports showed that the gross revenue was estimated to be $1,6 billion, which makes the situation at the beginning of November even worse than it was the previous month.
Over the last week, ADR declined to MOP750 million. The race, known as Grand Prix, took place in Macau in the period 13-16 of November and it is believed to have had a great contribution to the deteriorated numbers as the event kept players away from the casino venues. Kenneth Fong and Isis Wong, market analysts with plenty of experience, said that the decline shouldn’t be regarded as something surprising.
They added that their intention was to pinpoint the apparent reasons, which have determined that outcome. The rapid decline is believed to be caused by a variety of factors. However, the analysts set another goal as well – to investigate the underlying reasons that have led to the current situation.
The daily revenues, generated in Macau-based casinos are falling as well and what is worse – there is no indication of improvement.
Anthony Wong and Angus Chan, another two experienced market analysts, suspected the smoking ban to be a main reason for the rapid downfall of the revenues. They believe that as smoking on the casino floor is prohibited, players have to start over every time they go outside to light a cigarette and come back to the table.
According to the predictions, the drop on the VIP gambling market for the entire month of November will be between 17 and 22% and the decline of the mass market is estimated to be between 20 and 25%. By comparison, the drop in October was 23%.
The overall impression of a majority of experts is that the latest events in China have a severe impact on Macau’s revenue. Visa restrictions and the attempts of Chinese authorities to deal with corruption are believed to be among the main factors for the continuous decrease. Once Chinese authorities solve country’s issues and allow residents freely travel to Macau, a slight increase in the revenue can be expected.
