GGRAsia – Macau Jockey Club reports wider loss for 2015

Macau Jockey Club reports wider loss for 2015

Jul 14, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

The Macau Horse Racing Co Ltd, which runs Macau Jockey Club, reported a 72.3 percent year-on-year increase in losses for 2015.

The company reported a deficit of MOP88.4 million (US$11.1 million) for last year, according to a summary of the firm’s annual report, published on Wednesday in the Official Gazette. The deficit in 2014 was MOP51.2 million.

The Macau Jockey Club last made a profit in 2004, and by the end of last year it had accumulated losses of approximately MOP3.96 billion.

Gross revenue from horse racing betting in Macau dropped by 45.6 percent year-on-year in 2015 to MOP166 million, data from the city’s gaming regulator show. Betting volumes contracted by 46.6 percent during the period, to MOP837 million.

Horse racing betting accounts for under 0.1 percent of Macau’s overall gambling gross revenue – the dominant contributor to such revenue is the city’s casino industry. Other forms of legal gambling in Macau include: greyhound racing betting; sports betting; and lotteries.

The Macau Horse Racing Co has held the monopoly on horse racing betting since 1978. The company last year had its contract extended for an additional two years. The current concession expires on August 31, 2017.

Casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung Sun and related interests control the Macau Horse Racing Co. Angela Leong On Kei – an executive director of Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd – is vice president of the board. Within the perimeter of the horse racing facility there is a casino licensed by SJM Holdings.