Macau GGR for December may rise 8% month-on-month
Sanford C. Bernstein has predicted that Macau’s GGR for December could be down by 68 per cent when compared to pre-pandemic levels but up 8 per cent month-on-month.
Macau.- Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd have predicted that Macau’s GGR for December could be down 68 per cent when compared to December 2019 levels. However, the figure may see a rise of 8 per cent month-on-month, with chances of improvement in the mass gaming market.
The recovery of the Macau market in December is likely to be driven by the mass and premium mass gaming sector and non-gaming products and services. Analysts noted, however, that the VIP gaming business may face challenges through the last month of the year.
JPMorgan Chase Securities (Asia Pacific) Co has said that it “may have reason to assume” that VIP gambling by intermediaries in the Macau market “will eventually approach zero”.
That comes after the detention of Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, Suncity Group chairman, in Macau for allegedly assisting clients from mainland China in illegal gambling, including online gambling through the Philippines. Suncity Group Holdings has decided to close all of its VIP rooms in Macau until further notice.
Analysts at JP Morgan stated: “We think the message from the Chinese central government is clear, in that junkets’ proactive gambling promotion – such as credit extension and foreign exchange transfer, among others – for mainlanders will not be tolerated.”
Macau’s gross gaming revenue was up 54.6 per cent month-on-month in November, from MOP4.37bn (US$544m) to MOP6.75bn (US$844m). The figure was also up slightly when compared to November 2020. The positive numbers were driven by a rise in daily average visitor numbers.
October had seen the lowest monthly GGR of 2021, mainly due to an outbreak of local Covid-19 cases at the beginning of the month, which led to low numbers of tourist arrivals for the October Golden Week. Aggregate casino GGR for the first eleven months of the year totals MOP78.90bn, up 49.9 per cent year-on-year from MOP52.62bn in 2020.
