Sands China takes lead in Macau premium mass gambling segment

Analysts at Citigroup Global Markets say Sands China has overtaken Galaxy Entertainment Group as the leader in the premium mass market.

Macau.- According to a report from Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Sands China Ltd is currently leading Macau’s ‘premium mass’ gambling segment with a market share of approximately 24 per cent. The report says the group has managed to overtake Galaxy thanks to offerings at the Londoner Macao and Plaza. 

The premium mass segment, which involves cash play at high minimum bets, is a key area of competition among Macau operators under their new concessions. Citigroup’s report shows only 249 premium mass players market-wide in February 2023. Wagers totalled about 53 per cent of that reported in March 2019, suggesting that the recovery in premium mass continues to outpace that of Macau visitor arrivals.

Sands China’s Londoner Macao resort had bets that averaged approximately HKD25,000 per hand. Wynn Macau Ltd was the most improved operator, with a 22 per cent share of premium mass wagers in February versus only circa 16 per cent in January. Citigroup said MGM China Holdings was potentially experiencing some normalisation in its premium mass market share.

Sands China posts revenue of US$1.61bn for 2022

Sands China has made a preliminary announcement of its annual results for the year ended December 31, 2022. Net revenue was down 44.2 per cent from HK$22.42bn (US$2.87bn) to HK$12.51bn (US$1.61bn). The company reported a loss of HK$12.33bn (US$1.58bn), compared to a loss of HK$8.17bn (US$1.05bn) in 2021.

The Group’s adjusted property EBITDA for 2022 was a loss of US$323m (HK$2.52bn) compared to US$341m (HK$2.66bn) in 2021. Net casino revenues were US$947m, a decrease of 52.3 per cent from US$1.99bn. The decrease in net casino revenues occurred across all properties, primarily due to a decline in visitation.