Gaming insights Gaming

Sands, Galaxy looking strongest in “new Macau”

Written by Ben Blaschke

The official 3Q16 figures published by the DICJ this week suggest Sands and Galaxy are the operators bets placed to take advantage of Macau’s rapidly evolving gaming demographic.

So says Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen following a closer look at the numbers, which saw gross gaming revenue grow 1 percent year-on-year and 7 percent sequentially. Those numbers include the following revelations:

  • Live Multi Game GGR (these are the LT Game stadiums) increased 16% y/y
  • Sic-Bo GGR +12% y/y
  • Slot machine GGR, while down 3% y/y was up 8% sequentially
  • Collectively the above three categories accounted for nearly 10% of total GGR in 3Q16
  • Baccarat GGR only accounted for 87% of total GGR, the lowest mix in seven years

“Our take is that the lower tiers of mass market continue to be the strongest segments in the market today,” said Govertsen. “Sands China is in the best position to capture an outsized proportion of this lower tier play, followed by Galaxy Entertainment.

“Our long-term Macau thesis is predicated on our view that the lower tiers of mass represent the bulk of the future profit growth story in Macau and the best place to be is therefore the west side of Cotai rather than on Millionaire’s Row that forms much of the east side of Cotai.”