VIP revenues plunge 42 pct in Q1

Gaming revenues from the VIP sector totalled MOP37.7 billion (US$4.7 billion) during the first quarter of the year, slumping 42 per cent from MOP65.1 billion one year ago, the latest official data released by the Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ) reveals.
In the past three months, the city generated a total of MOP64.7 billion from the gaming industry, suggesting revenues gained from the VIP market for the quarter occupied 58.2 per cent of total revenues.
On a quarter-on-quarter comparison, the VIP gaming revenues of the first quarter also dived 18 per cent from MOP46.1 billion.
Meanwhile, mass market gaming revenues posted a year-on-year decline of 27 per cent to MOP27.1 billion from MOP37.1 billion. Compared with the last quarter of 2014, revenues in the first quarter dropped 8.1 per cent from MOP29.5 billion.
Nevertheless, the proportion of mass market revenues increased 15.2 per cent year-on-year, jumping from 36.3 per cent of total gaming revenues to 41.8 per cent during the first quarter.
Meanwhile, the number of gaming tables slightly decreased from the fourth quarter last year to 5,630 tables, down 81 tables. In addition, the number of slot machines decreased to 12,688 from 13,018 in the fourth quarter of 2014.
K.L.