According to the latest table survey from investment bank Citigroup, Macau’s premium mass gaming segment showed continued growth in January 2025.
During a mid-month survey, the research team observed total wagers amounting to HK$12.8 million ($1.6 million) January 2025, an 11 percent increase from the HK$11.5 million ($1.5 million) recorded in a similar period of January 2024. This rise in total wagers highlights the growing appeal of the premium mass market, with more players placing higher-value bets.
This aligns with other studies on the Macau gaming industry, which have noted that Chinese players continue to demonstrate a strong willingness to spend in Macau.
A key observation is that the number of premium mass players rose by 19 percent, with 636 players recorded in the January 2025 survey, compared to 534 players in the same period last year. This surge suggests that the segment is attracting more individuals, driven by favorable economic conditions and Macau’s sustained reputation as a leading gaming destination.
The average wager per player in January 2025 remained strong at HK$20,160 ($2,589), although slightly lower than the HK$21,581 ($2,772) recorded in January 2024. Despite a slight decline in the number of ‘whales’ (high-stakes players)—24 in January 2025 compared to 27 in January 2024—the overall betting volume remained robust.
A ‘whale’ is defined as a player whose bet size ranges from HK$100,000 to HK$500,000 ($12,800 to $64,000) per hand or more.
Wagers by the whales encountered by the analysts were higher compared to the January 2024 period, up by 37 percent, averaging HK$195,000 ($25,000). This rise was driven, in part, by a hefty HK$1 million ($128,400) wager at the Londoner, marking the first such wager at the property since the Londoner Grand casino opened in September 2024. Even without this outlier, the average wager per whale was still up by 12 percent.
While overall gaming was robust, the typical pre-Chinese New Year slowdown was observed. The Chinese New Year Golden Week arrives earlier this year, running from January 28th to February 4th, compared to February 10th to 17th in 2024.
Analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau maintain their forecast for January 2025’s gross gaming revenue (GGR), predicting a 2 percent year-on-year decline to MOP19 billion ($2.36 billion). However, they continue to expect positive GGR growth for the combined January-February period.
In terms of market share, Sands China emerged as the leader in the premium mass segment, holding a 28 percent share of the total wager observed. This was up from 23 percent in December 2024. Galaxy ranked second with a 27 percent share, slightly down from 26 percent in December 2024. Wynn saw a decline in market share, likely due to ongoing major renovation works at Wynn Macau’s Encore Tower.
Galaxy fully deploys smart tables for mass baccarat
In the same survey, the research team updated information on the smart table deployment across Macau’s gaming operators. Citigroup found that Galaxy Entertainment Group has become the second casino operator in Macau to fully deploy smart tables for its mass baccarat operations, following MGM China. The casino added 74 smart tables in its base mass area, while StarWorld introduced nine.
Sands has also made significant strides in smart table deployment, adding 19 at the Venetian’s base mass area, 12 in the high-limit area of Sands Macao, and 80 at the Parisian’s base mass area. Sands is now approximately 80 percent smart-table-enabled.
Wynn has expanded its smart table count as well, with 72 at Wynn Macau and 60 at Wynn Palace, bringing its smart table share to about 60 percent.
City of Dreams showed little change in its smart table count, while Studio City is now fully deployed. As a result, Citigroup estimates that Melco’s properties are approximately 50 percent smart.
A significant development is the introduction of smart tables at SJM’s casinos, with 63 installed in the base mass area of Grand Lisboa.
Analysts noted that this trend is a key factor driving Citigroup’s 7 percent Macau GGR growth forecast for 2025, as the adoption of smart tables is expected to enhance game speed and increase the number of games dealt per hour.
