A new ‘live multi-game’ (LMG) product for electronic versions of casino games featuring a live dealer, is being planned for launch before year-end by Macau-based specialist in the field, LT Game Ltd, said boss Jay Chun (pictured), in an interview with GGRAsia.
The newcomer, branded “Nera”, should make an appearance “by the end of this year”, stated the executive.
Mr Chun is co-chairman and managing director of LT Game’s parent, Hong Kong-listed gaming technology supplier and casino services firm, Paradise Entertainment Ltd.
LT Game’s chief operating officer, Betty Zhao, told GGRAsia that Nera “represents a ‘new era’”. She added: “It is a brand-new live multi-game product that carries hardware and software” different from the company’s existing live multi-game equipment. The new product is still in development.
She stated: “Baccarat players like viewing the patterns of historical game results, and with Nera, they can choose to view these patterns, as well as to choose their favourite table to bet with. And when a certain game trend emerges – like, for instance, a long streak of banker or player – the player will be reminded automatically of it,” before placing a bet.
LT Game asserts intellectual property rights on live multi-game in the Macau market. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) from that category in Macau totalled MOP1.19 billion (US$147.8 million) in the first two quarters of this year, representing 87.5 percent of the same period in 2019, according to data published by Macau’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
The 2019 live multi-game GGR of MOP2.84 billion had been a record since the time when the category was first recognised by the Macau regulator. Coinciding with disruptions wrought by Covid-19, Macau’s annual GGR from live multi-game declined to MOP923 million in 2020, recovered to MOP1.37 billion in 2021, then dipped down to MOP825 million in 2022.
As well as preparing the new product Nera, LT Game is also upgrading the existing LMGs deployed in the Macau market, so that they comply with the city’s Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) Technical Standards version 2.0, Ms Zhao told GGRAsia. The supplier sector’s deadline fully to implement these standards has been extended from December 2024, to the end of 2026, according to an instruction from the casino regulator.
As part of the upgrade for Macau, a ‘Lucky Six’ side bet – previously only available on ‘no-commission baccarat’ versions of LT Game’s live multi-game units – will also be available on ‘commission baccarat’ versions. Casino operators are given the choice of LT Game units in either ‘no-commission’ or ‘commission’ format.
Mr Chun also gave GGRAsia an update on business at Casino Kam Pek Paradise, a satellite casino in downtown Macau under the licence of SJM Holdings Ltd that is managed by Paradise Entertainment under a so-called service agreement.
“The total [wager] revenue” generated from the LMGs installed at Macau’s Casino Kam Pek Paradise to date, has “already neared 2019-level”, said the executive.
Visitor volume to live multi-game units in the year to date at Casino Kam Pek Paradise “is tracking circa 80 percent of pre-pandemic level, while the wager revenue for this game has already reached pre-pandemic level,” stated Mr Chun.
As a result, “the average bet per player has edged up a bit,” he added.
