Macau, China, July 17, 2025 (Lusa) - Revenues from high rollers, a segment known in Macau as VIP gaming, rose 22.7% in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2024, according to official data.
So-called VIP baccarat gaming reached revenues of 16.3 billion patacas (€1.74 billion) between March and June, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) of the semi-autonomous Chinese region revealed on Wednesday.
This represents an acceleration compared to the first quarter, when high-stakes revenues rose only 0.5% year-on-year to 14.5 billion patacas (€1.59 billion).
However, VIP gaming in Macau still has considerable room to grow toward the historic peaks reached before the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2019, baccarat for the VIP segment accounted for 46.2% of Macau's total casino revenue. But in the second quarter of this year, it accounted for only 26.7%.
High-stakes gambling declined after authorities arrested the head of the world’s largest VIP gambling company in November 2021.
A court sentenced former Suncity executive Alvin Chau Cheok Wa in January 2023 to 18 years in prison in a case that resulted in the number of gaming promoter licences issued in Macau being reduced from 85 to 18.
According to DICJ data, the number of licences has been recovering and reached 29 in June, four more than in the previous month. The government set a maximum limit of 50, leaving room for further growth.
Revenues from Macau’s most popular game, baccarat in the so-called mass market, also increased by 2.8% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025 to 35.6 billion patacas (€3.8 billion).
Mass market baccarat accounted for 58.2% of total casino revenue in the territory between March and June, by far the most popular game of chance among Chinese gamblers.
Revenue from gaming machines increased by 9.4% compared to the second quarter of 2024, reaching 3.51 billion patacas (€375.3 million).
Macau is the world’s gambling capital and the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.
In the first half of the year, Macau’s casinos recorded total revenues of 118.8 billion patacas (€12.5 billion), 4.4% more than in the same period of 2024.
The Macau government’s initial budget for 2025 predicted gaming revenues of 240 billion patacas (approximately €27.7 billion), representing a 6% increase compared to the previous year.
However, on 11 June, the territory’s parliament approved a new budget proposed by the government, which revises the forecast for public revenue downwards by 4.56 billion patacas (€494.6 million).
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Anton Tai Kin Ip, acknowledged to MPs that the cut was because gross gaming revenue in the first quarter of 2025 was “slightly below forecast”.
VQ/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
