Banking institution Citigroup has observed a year-on-year improvement in average wager per premium mass player, as well as in volume of high-value players and average mass baccarat minimum bets in March. That is according to the institution’s latest monthly survey of the city’s premium baccarat play.
“We think this bodes well for Macau’s chances of delivering year-on-year GGR [gross gaming revenue] growth of low-to-mid teens for the third consecutive quarter in first-quarter 2026,” wrote analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau in a recent note. The banking group estimates a 13-percent year-on-year increase in first-quarter GGR this year.
In its latest survey, the Citi analysts said they observed 543 premium mass players, “16-percent lower versus March 2025”. Total wager for the segment stood at HKD11.2 million (US$1.43 million), which the institution said was “largely flat” from a year earlier.
“This implies that average wager per player grew 17 percent year-on-year to HKD20,689, versus HKD17,611 in March 2025,” the analysts noted.
They added: “March 2026 average premium mass wager per player of HKD20,689 was 30-percent lower than Chinese New Year 2026’s HKD29,625. This is largely in line with the March versus Chinese New Year softness we observed in 2025 (- 33 percent) and 2024 (-30 percent).”
Of the total premium mass wager observed in the latest survey, Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd ranked first, with a 32-percent market share, the Citi team said. Sands China Ltd was second with a 21-percent market share in total wager observed.
The Citi analysts identified 25 ‘whales’ – defined by the institution as high-value players betting HKD100,000 or above – in their latest Macau survey, up from 20 whales in March last year.
“We found our player of the month at the Horizon Room at Galaxy Macau wagering HKD350,000. Honourable mentions go to the two whales at Venetian high limit areas and one whale at Galaxy Macau’s Pavilion North, each of whom wagered HKD300,000,”the analysts observed.
The Citi analysts also noticed a 3-percent year-on-year increase in average mass baccarat minimum bet, to HKD2,028, in Macau during this month’s survey. “Cotai’s average rose 6 percent year-on-year HKD2,192, while [Macau] peninsula’s average fell 7 percent year-on-year to HKD1,540,” they stated.
