World Cup fuels sports lottery sales in Macau

Jan 16, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Sports lottery sales in Macau jumped in 2014, fuelled by the strong growth in bets on football amid the FIFA World Cup last year. In contrast, Macau’s greyhound and horse racing are losing its shine, as gross revenues dropped last year, the city’s gaming regulator said on Friday.

Gross revenue from different gaming activities in Macau – excluding casino revenue – grew by 6.8 percent year-on-year to MOP1.19 billion (US$149 million) in 2014, according to figures published by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. That is only a small fraction of the MOP352.7 billion in overall gambling revenue in Macau last year.

Sports lottery sales in Macau reached MOP8.1 billion in 2014, up by 19.9 percent from a year earlier. Much of that growth was supported by bets on football, on the back of the FIFA World Cup. The tournament took place between June 12 and July 13, 2014.

The total amount bet on football totalled MOP6.0 billion last year, up by 21.7 percent year-on-year, according to Friday’s data. That resulted in gross revenue from sports lottery jumping 29.3 percent year-on-year to MOP736 million.

Macau Slot Co Ltd, a company linked to SJM Holdings Ltd’s founder Stanley Ho Hung Sun, holds the monopoly in Macau for bets on football and basketball games.

According to Friday’s data, revenue from greyhound racing at the Macau Canidrome dropped by 18.5 percent year-on-year to MOP145 million in 2014, making it the fourth consecutive year of declines.

The amount bet on horse racing at the Macau Jockey Club fell to MOP1.6 billion last year, from MOP1.9 billion in 2013, resulting in a 16.2-percent drop in gross revenue to MOP306 million, said the gaming regulator.

Revenue from Chinese and instant lotteries stood at about MOP6 million last year, up by 20 percent year-on-year, but still representing just a fraction of a percent of overall non-casino gaming revenue.

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