Operators from the Macau area are saying that the VIP gambling sector won’t recover until the high rollers from China have a chance to “catch their breath and recuperate”.
It seems that the chip turnover at five of the best Macau VIP gaming rooms fell 72% to only $440 million in August, mirroring the rate of decline that was also reported in July. On the plus side though the win rate for that month was 4.13%, well above the theoretical range which is around 3% but below July’s incredible 4.52%. But for this year-to-date, the turnover rate is down 62% to $4.8 billion.
Analysts from Macau were banking on the grand opening of a huge casino in the area but it would seem that the market has not grown to the extent of their expectations. The same analysts that predicted huge growth in revenue for the area thanks to this casino are now backing away and are reconsidering if Macau will be able to bounce back in 2016.
An employee for a bank also added that investors need to “massively cut” their 2016 expectations. They suggest that the gaming revenue for 2016 will likely be down by 7% year-on-year and earnings for casino operators will plummet by around 18%.
The main reason for all of this seems to be the economic slump which China is facing. All of this explains why a lot of the regular high rollers who frequented Macau are slowly but surely making fewer visits to the huge gambling hub.