World Cup 2014 bets fuel Macau Slot profit

Jul 15, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Macau sports betting concessionaire Macau Slot Co Ltd posted an 18.4-percent rise in profit for 2014, thanks to a boost in betting revenue linked to that year’s FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.

Macau Slot’s results, published on Wednesday in the Macau government’s Official Gazette, show a profit of MOP121.84 million (US$15.26 million) in 2014, up from MOP102.90 million in the previous year.

The main reason for the increase was a 42.7 percent growth to MOP598 million in revenue from football bets, thanks to the World Cup tournament that took place between June 12 and July 13 last year. Total betting on football reached MOP6.04 billion last year, up from MOP4.96 billion in 2013, according to data from Macau’s gaming regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

Betting on basketball also went up by 14.9 percent year-on-year in 2014 to MOP2.08 billion. Macau Slot’s revenue from basketball bets however fell by 8 percent from the previous year to MOP138 million.

The Macau Slot board said it had been updating and improving the products it offers to customers. The company is also “looking for diversified sports betting products,” it added in a statement accompanying the results.

The firm said it launched last year a mobile phone version of its website “providing more flexibility” to customers.

Macau Slot, which last month saw its sports betting concession extended to June 5, 2016, is part of the business empire built by Stanley Ho Hung Sun, founder of Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd.

Macau Slot’s management board is chaired by Louis Ng Chi Sing, who is also an executive director of SJM Holdings, as well as being SJM Holdings’ chief operating officer, according to the latter firm’s website.

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