Citi Research’s December survey of premium mass players in Macau casinos recorded circa 11 percent more ‘whales’ – high-stakes gamblers – compared to November.
There were 20 ‘whales’ – with a bet size of HKD100,000 (US$12,818) or more – seen in the December survey, versus the 18 observed the month before.
“Players seem to be a lot less concerned than investors about the current state of the [Chinese] economy and the recent surge of respiratory illness in China, and they… demonstrate their still-resilient luxury spending behaviour,” wrote analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheung.
What Citi termed the “Player of the Month” was seen at the Horizon Room at the Galaxy Macau resort on Cotai, wagering HKD610,000. Four other whales were betting HKD150,000 to HKD210,000. “We also ran into a few players with chip stacks north of HKD1 million across Macau,” said the analysts.
Average minimum bet across Macau in this December’s survey was HKD2,064, circa 12 percent higher than December 2019’s survey figure of HKD1,834.
In the 12 monthly surveys since what Citi terms Macau’s “reopening” – understood to be a reference to lifting of Covid-19 -related travel restrictions in January this year – the institution found that average premium mass wager per player was anywhere from 22 percent to 94 percent higher than corresponding months in 2019.
Data from the city’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, indicate the structure of the Macau gambling market has also changed since 2019.
In the third quarter this year, VIP baccarat – the game of choice for high-value players in Macau whether directly-managed by the casino operators or issued with credit by junkets – accounted for only 24.1 percent of all Macau casino gross gaming revenue (GGR). In the third quarter of 2019, VIP baccarat – described then by analysts as mostly generated from junkets, a sector now much diminished – made up 43.9 percent of all GGR.
