The government’s recent crackdown on unauthorised money exchanges has not led to cutbacks in casinos’ premium mass segment, Inside Asia Gaming (IAG) reports – citing a note from Citibank analysts.
Indeed, analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheung noted that both year-on-year and month-on-month premium mass wagers appeared to be surging during their recent inspection of the SAR’s integrated resorts. The pair said they saw 25 so-called ‘whales’ while in the city, betting as much as HK$600,000 (US$77,000) per hand. Whales are defined as players betting HK$100,000 per hand or more.
“The fact that this happens after the Macao government’s decision to criminalise illegal money exchanges within casino premises means that most players, via legitimate channels, are still able to get their funds to the Macao casinos,” Choi and Cheung said.
[See more: Beijing orders a crackdown on Macao’s illegal money exchanges]
Citibank’s premium mass survey for August observed a 35 percent year-on-year increase in total wager, to HK$12.8 million (US$1.6 million), spread across 655 premium mass players.
The HK$600,000 per hand player was spotted at City of Dreams’ Dragon Palace, though Galaxy Macau ranked top in the survey with a 29 percent market share.
The authorities have reportedly been cracking down on illegal currency exchanges over the past two months. Earlier in August, the government also announced it would make unauthorised currency exchanges taking place on casino premises punishable by jail terms of up to five years.
This new provision to the proposed Law to Combat Gambling Crimes has widened the definition of a casino’s premises to include ancillary facilities used for artistic, cultural, recreational, business or hotel-related activities.
