A number of well-respected brokerages have reportedly predicted that Macau will post total gaming sales, up about 20% year-on-year, after only increasing 12.1% compared to last month.
In April, more than 30 casinos in their former Portuguese residences posted total gaming revenue, up 27.6% year-over-year, with comparable gains of up to 22% the previous month, according to official figures from the Macau Game Inspection and Coordination Bureau. However, the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, along with reportedly low retention rates for Bakara VIP games, was still better than the $2.81 billion seen in the same month of 2017, but the total for May came to $3.15 billion, lower than expected.
Investment research firm Sanford C Bernstein Limited has forecast year-over-year growth of “20% to 21%” in June, bringing Macau’s total monthly gaming revenue to just under $3 billion over a 30-day period.
According to reports, Sanford C Bernstein Limited analysts Kelsey Zhu, Zen Gong and Vitali Umanski are based on forecasts that Macau’s total daily gaming revenue will reach $90.29 million to $92.76 million for the rest of June, and explained that the same figure for the six-day period from June 19 reached $88.56 million, up about 3% year-on-year.
“Total gaming revenue slowed last week due to the 2018 FIFA World Cup and reduced VIP retention,” said an analysis from Sanford C Bernstein Limited. “To date, VIP retention has been in the [lower] range. Both the bulk gross gaming revenue and VIP volume were flat month-on-month compared to the average daily rate figures for May.”
JPMorgan Securities (Asia-Pacific) Limited detailed last week that Macau’s total daily game sales were likely around $88.44 million, which it described as ‘pretty good, resilient to us, especially given the slow post-holiday season and the negative impact of the [2018 FIFA] World Cup.’
According to a release from Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, Macau’s total gaming revenue was negatively affected last month by a drop in VIP retention and a sequential decrease in the number of popular market players visiting as tourists.