Operator News
China – Visa restrictions to hamper premium mass and VIP in Macau
By Phil - 18 May 2022
Credit Suisse has warned that over half of Macau’s premium mass players, making up around 20 per cent of Macau’s casino revenue, would be affected by China’s move to restrict visa approval for any citizens seen to be regularly travelling to Macau.
Analysts Kenneth Fong, Lok Kan Chan and Sardonna Fong said premium players that have traditionally visited Macau every two to three months with an average 3.2 trips each year would be impacted which would affect the premium mass segments and the VIP sectors
They warned: “In other words, half of the high-end gamblers (above the average) are statistically travelling to Macau more than three times every year while half of them are below the average. More than 50 per cent of the premium mass players would be impacted. Even if we were to assume that part of the loss can be made up by increasing their gambling budget and time spent, we believe that this would hit 30 per cent of the premium mass/direct VIP revenue. This is equivalent to 20 per cent of the total industry GGR.”
