Macau’s only sports bet firm gets licence renewal

Jun 01, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Macau sports betting concessionaire Macau Slot Co Ltd will have its sports betting concession extended to June 5, 2021, according to Macau’s Official Gazette.

The current concession – which includes football and basketball betting – expires on Sunday. The firm is part of the business empire built by Stanley Ho Hung Sun, founder of Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd.

Macau Slot holds a monopoly on sports betting in Macau, with the exception of betting on horseracing, where the concession is held by Macau Horse Racing Co Ltd, which runs Macau Jockey Club.

Macau Slot’s business sector generated gross revenue of MOP673 million (US$84 million) in 2015, down by 8.6 percent year-on-year, show data from the local gaming regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

“There is no major change in the contract signed with Macau Slot except that the period of the contract is now for five years,” the regulator told GGRAsia.

Macau Slot’s latest publicly available results are from 2014, when the firm posted an annual 18.4-percent rise in profit to MOP121.84 million, thanks to a boost in betting revenue linked to that year’s FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.

In Las Vegas – a U.S. destination noted for its appeal to mass-market customers – sports betting is a staple of casino gaming floor product. No Macau casinos have gaming floor sports books, but some operators have privately shown interest in that.

“Sports betting [in casinos] is an opportunity in the U.S. and is likely and opportunity in other markets as well,” Geoff Freeman, president and chief executive of the American Gaming Association told GGRAsia in an interview last month.

“I know it is something they [Macau casino operators] would like [to also do]. The industry has to constantly evolve and provide our customers with new products,” he added at the time.

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