Singapore to post GGR decrease in 2018

According to Sanford C. Bernstein, the market’s GGR is on track to reach €3.9 billion in full-year 2018, down 2.4% from 2017.

Singapore.- The gaming industry in Singapore is on track for a yearly decrease, according to brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. Analysts explained they forecast the local market to reach gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €3.9 billion in full-year 2018, which would mean a 2.4% decrease year-on-year.

The financial services firm released a note in which it forecasted combined 2018 VIP revenue for Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa to reach only €1.4 billion, down from last year’s €1.6 billion. Furthermore, it announced the mass-table market GGR is on track to reach €1.48 billion (down 3.8% from 2017) while slot GGR is expected to rise 8.9% to €1 billion.

“Singapore is a stable growth market with significant cash flow generation,” analysts Vitaly Umansky, Kelsey Zhu and Eunice Lee wrote. “The anti-corruption campaign in China, however, represented significant headwinds to the market in 2015 and 2016.”

“We estimate that over 50% of VIP is comprised of Chinese players. Hence, in 2015, the relative softness of the Chinese economy, along with the anti-corruption campaign, exerted influence on the VIP market in Singapore (rolling chip volume down 23% year-on-year and VIP GGR down 31 per cent year-on-year).”