Good Morning. “I wanna get in the zone”. While Britney Spears’ catchy pop tune gathered a following, Macau’s attempts at doing so with foreigner-only gaming zones appears to be slow to pick up. While operators are getting tax cuts due to foreign play, the contribution is marginal compared to overall receipts and unlikely to see a large change. In Singapore, the city lauded its highest-ever tourism receipts, championing its new “distinctive experiences” positioning and placing it on the road to beat projections. Meanwhile, MGM may have jumped the gun in its results release, with divulged data showing $1.23 billion in Macau revenue for 4Q25.
What you need to know
- Macau’s push for international players shows slow progress, with foreign zones yielding modest gains that experts label as too small to matter.
- Singapore sees highest-ever tourism receipts in the first three quarters of 2025, raking in $18.82 billion on increased offerings.
- MGM China sees a 21.4 percent increase in its fourth quarter 2025 revenue, to $1.23 billion, according to early-release results.
On the radar
- AGEM Index down by 0.9 percent monthly in January.
- Thai lottery campaign policies face growing opposition.
- Australia’s Jumbo Interactive flags double-digit growth in fiscal first half.
- PH House leader moves to abolish travel tax to boost tourism and mobility.
- Sands China’s weak 4Q unlikely to derail dividend normalization: JP Morgan.
AGB Intelligence
MACAU
Macau foreigner-only zones’ contributions remain marginal: experts
Macau’s attempt to better siphon foreign gaming play into specific zones is being met with little success, experts say. The bid to better quantify foreign play, and provide tax breaks for operators who are drawing in more non-Chinese punters, has seen “positive developments”, but the segment only generated $385 million in 2024. For now, the level of play compared to overall volume is insignificant, and unlikely to affect operators’ earnings or investment decisions.
Industry Updates
- Aristocrat Gaming and Metropolitan unveil Aristocrat on the Square.
- MGM debuts its Hong Kong International Airport City Terminal.
- BetConstruct AI confirms Dubai as host city for Harmony ChoiceMe.
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