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Showing posts from June, 2024

mass-market patrons.

jan25 Gaming revenue generated by mass market baccarat reached MOP 137.9 billion (USD 17.2 billion) last year, surpassing the levels recorded in the pre-pandemic full year of 2019, according to data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ). In contrast, VIP baccarat gaming revenue totalled MOP 54.7 billion (USD 6.8 billion), accounting for 40 per cent of 2019 levels and making up 24 per cent of the total GGR figure for 2024 (MOP 226.8 billion/USD 28.3 billion)), down from 46 per cent in 2019. https://www.macaubusiness.com/2024-mass-market-baccarat-revenue-surpasses-pre-pandemic-levels/ dec24 Luta de classesLee alerta para o perigo de mercado de massas “fugir” de Macau Aconversa com Ben Lee surge no contexto de uma palestra que protagonizou, recente- mente, sobre os dois anos das novas concessões de jogo. Promovida pela Câmara de Comér- cio França-Macau, a sessão teve como nome “Macau New Gaming Landscape: Two years into concessions, what now?”, tendo o analista e sócio...

Free foods

jul24 Ricky Hoi Io Meng, deputy director of Macao Government Tourism Office, hinted in Thursday comments that changes to local casinos’ provision of free snacks and drinks on gaming floors “should not have a big impact to the visitors”. GGRAsia had previously approached the city’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, for comment on the claims of government pushback against the practice of casino operators distributing free food and drinks to patrons – as mentioned on social media several weeks ago – but had not received a reply. The free food and drink trend appeared anecdotally to have been on the rise this year. “I don’t have any comment on these kinds of new methods,” said Mr Hoi (pictured in a file photo), in comments to the television news service of local public broadcaster TDM. https://www.ggrasia.com/no-sign-casino-snack-topic-hits-tourism-says-macau-official/ jun24 A move by Macau’s concessionaires to limit the provision of free snacks to visitors m...

Facial recognition

 Jun24 Macau’s casino industry could benefit from clearer guidelines on the use of face recognition technology on gaming floors, particularly for marketing purposes. That is the opinion of Graça Saraiva (pictured, centre right), legal consultant and data protection officer for casino operator Sands china Ltd. “It would be good to have more specific and clear guidelines from the regulator in what concerns facial recognition technology at gaming tables,” Ms Saraiva said on Thursday. She was speaking during a panel session of the conference segment of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2024 casino industry trade show in Macau. Ms Saraiva was responding to a question about the use of ‘smart’ gaming tables in the context of the Macau market, and how to take advantage of the functions offered by such types of equipment – including making use of facial recognition and artificial intelligence for business purposes – while ensuring player data protection. https://www.ggrasia.c...

Turismo (transportes; problemas)

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fev25 Visitor arrivals to Macau during the Chinese New Year ( CNY ) holiday fell short of the Macao Government Tourism Office’s ( MGTO ) forecast, raising concerns within the industry. In an interview with Macau Daily,  Andy Wu , president of the Macau Tourism Industry Association, noted that the city’s focus on attracting international tourists last year may have inadvertently led to the neglect of traditional markets such as mainland China and Hong Kong. In response, the industry plans to strengthen efforts to retain its core visitor base while expanding into new markets. According to the MGTO, Macau  received  1.31 million visitors during the eight-day CNY holiday (January 28th–February 4th), marking a 3.5 percent year-on-year average daily decline. Mainland Chinese tourists accounted for 1 million of these arrivals, down 3.2 percent from the previous year. The average daily visitation of approximately 163,700 was below the MGTO’s forecast of 185,000 visitors per day. ...

Crimes (“Law to Combat Gambling Crimes”) or Bill on Illegal Gaming Offences

ab25 The  criminalising  of gaming-related unlicensed money exchange has been “effective” in combatting such activities, says Macau’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak Mr Wong (pictured, back row, centre) added fewer instances of suspected unlicensed money-changing for gambling purposes being solicited by touts had been reported since the law came into effect. He was speaking in response to a question from local legislator Lam Lon Wai, at a Friday plenary session of the city’s Legislative Assembly. The meeting was a question-and-answer session on Macau’s Policy Address for Fiscal Year 2025 that had been announced in mid-April. Mr Wong stated: “Following the criminalising… last year, the impact has been quite satisfactory. “From the time it was criminalised till the end of last year, there were 89 such cases recorded: another 132 cases were recorded in the first quarter of this year,” said Mr Wong in his comments to the assembly. “Since they [offenders] are left with a crim...