Macau casinos reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of MOP90.9 billion (US$11.4 billion) in the second quarter of 2014. That is up 5.5 percent from a year earlier, mostly on the back of mass market growth, show official data published on Wednesday.
Mass market gambling accounted for nearly 40 percent of Macau’s casino gaming revenue in the April to June period, according to the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
The high-margin mass sector generated GGR of MOP36.2 billion in the three months to June 30. Revenue from mass-market baccarat increased by 35.3 percent year-on-year to MOP28 billion.
The VIP segment fell by 5.8 percent year-on-year to MOP54.6 billion, dragging overall growth in the second quarter. It was also down from the MOP65 billion in the first three months of 2014.
VIP baccarat accounted for 67.3 percent all casino revenue in the second quarter of last year. It is now down to 60.1 percent in the three months to June 30, 2014, according to the data.
This was the first year-on-year drop in VIP revenue since the third quarter of 2012, when it fell by 1.1 percent.
Slot revenue amounted to MOP3.6 billion, just under 4 percent of the total revenue pie for the second quarter and a 3.8 percent improvement over the same period last year.
GGR for all games of fortune in the second quarter is up 5.5 percent over that of the same period last year, but slipped 11.1 percent when judged quarter-on-quarter.
Decelerating VIP growth has been mentioned by several gaming analysts as a market factor since May. It was singled out as the reason for the year-on-year decline of 3.7 percent in GGR in June. It was the first year-over-year drop in monthly GGR in five years.
Several analysts expect Macau’s VIP revenue growth to shrink judged year-on-year during the third quarter and for the year as a whole, helping to create a drag effect on overall revenue expectations for 2014.
Fitch Ratings Ltd this week revised downward its 2014 Macau GGR growth estimate to 10 percent. The rating agency said the decision was due to “weakness in the more volatile VIP segment”.
Macau’s accumulated total casino gaming revenue for the year to June 30 is MOP193 billion, a year-on-year growth of 12.8 percent.
