Macau's casinos worryingly reliant on high-rollers
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A DROP in the number of Macau's high rollers may push the Chinese territory's gambling revenue to its first annual decline on record. Forecasts for next year seem over-optimistic. For many casinos in the coastal enclave, high-spending VIP gamblers are the biggest vulnerability. If they stop playing, the likes of Galaxy Entertainment and Wynn Macau would be particularly hard hit.
China's millennia-long love of gambling is unlikely to abate in the long term, as Las Vegas Sands boss Sheldon Adelson reminded investors on Oct 16. But short-term indicators are worrying. Macau's VIP gaming revenue fell 19 per cent for the three months ending September. In the whole of 2014, casinos' take from gamblers may fall by one per cent, Barclays estimates, and Macau's new casino-floor smoking ban could worsen that decline.
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