The number of electronic table games [ETGs] in Macau could increase by 35 percent within five years, Union Gaming Research Macau says in a report. The research house believes that the Macau ETG market could grow from nearly 4,800 seats today, to at least 6,500 seats (up 1,000 seats from our previous forecast) within the next five years, our sister publication Business Daily reports. It thinks margins on earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for so-called stadium electronic table games are higher than for traditional mass-market live dealer games. Union Gaming believes that EBITDA per day on traditional live mass market table games was MOP26,800 [US$3,353] in 2012, but was 58 percent higher for stadium-style ETGs at MOP42,300. Stadium electronic games are those with tens of player positions served by one or a handful of live dealers, but where betting and bet settlement is done electronically. This allows both for a higher volume of money wagered per hand – even at minimum betting levels lower than traditional tables – and more hands per hour.
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