Casinos brace for slowdown as China fights money exchanges

Majority of Macau players employ legitimate fund transfer methods: Citigroup

Viviana Chan - July 16, 2024
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According to a July edition of its premium mass table survey, Citigroup has observed improving trends in gaming demand in Macau. Analysts note that concerns among some investors about a crackdown on illegal cross-border fund flows and its potential negative impact on Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) are likely ‘overdone.’

The analysts highlight that most players in Macau have established legitimate means to transfer their funds into the region. These methods are ‘sufficient for them to wager as much as HK$1 million ($128,000) per hand.’

The research aims to evaluate the impact of China’s crackdown on illicit money exchange movement. According to a previous report, Macau’s Judiciary Police apprehended 1,924 money changers between January and May this year, who are now banned from entering Macau. Additionally, 927 individuals were included on the casino entry ban list.

In Citigroup’s survey, the total premium mass wagers observed in July amounted to approximately HK$12.2 million ($1.6 million), a 34 percent increase from the roughly HK$9.1 million ($1.2 million) recorded in the same month a year ago. The number of premium mass players in this month’s survey reached 575, marking a 61 percent increase from a year ago.

‘This implies that the wager per player in July 2024 has recovered to HK$21,193 ($2,715), which is 15 percent higher than June 2024’s HK$18,478 ($2,367). Our survey once again indicates that gaming demand remains robust,’ noted Citigroup.

High rollers’ watch

A ‘whale’ describes players whose bet size ranges from HK$100,000 to HK$500,000 ($12,800 – $64,000) per hand or more. The number of whales observed was 23, compared to only 19 in July 2023.

Analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheung indicate that ‘to our surprise, we encountered a HK$1 million ($128,000) whale for the second consecutive month (before 2024, we encountered HK$1 million whales only five times since our Whale Watch started in January 2018).’

Among the ‘whales’ observed, 11 out of 23 high rollers were playing at casinos operated by Galaxy Entertainment and Sands China.

At Sands China, the survey noted two Japanese high rollers at its Plaza property, betting HK$100,000 ($12,811) and HK$200,000 ($25,623), respectively, within its Apex gaming room, a high-limit play zone.

The Player of the Month, with a HK$6 million ($768,700) chip stack, was betting at the high-limit area of MGM Cotai. The survey also mentions a HK$700,000 ($89,680) whale at the Supreme Room of MGM Cotai and three HK$500,000 ($64,060) whales at Wynn Palace‘s Chairman Club.

Citigroup also observed a wider use of smart gaming tables across high-limit and grind mass baccarat play zones at properties operated by Galaxy Entertainment, Sands China, and Wynn Macau Ltd.