Macau casinos report better than expected Golden Week gaming volume

Macau casinos are enjoying better than expected gaming revenue numbers during the Golden Week holiday period, according to analysts’ reports.

Visitation to Macau during the annual Chinese holiday was doing well until Typhoon Mujigae disrupted travel channels. Despite this setback, Credit Suisse analysts say anecdotal reports put average daily revenue at the casinos between MOP 800m to 900m (US $$100m – $113m), above both Credit Suisse’s forecasts and those of the broader market.

Credit Suisse said inquiries with several junket operators indicated VIP betting volume was up between 60% and 110% from September’s daily average volume. The analysts said this should help refute concerns that junket liquidity would tighten dramatically following the insider theft scandal that rocked the Dore Entertainment Co Ltd junket last month.

Daiwa Securities concurred, saying its reports indicated a “strong” Golden Week performance, with good betting volumes in both the VIP and mass market segments. Well Fargo Securities noted similar average daily revenue numbers, but noted that while these were up significantly from September, they were down one-third from 2014’s holiday figures.