Macau Gambling Closes a Fantastic October

The eight-day Golden Week holiday attracted a lot of Chinese gambling to Macau, with October revenues reaching MOP 27.7 billion ($3.5 billion), the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported.

This year’s October gambling revenues topped with 3.2 percent the record MOP 26.85 billion in October 2011. The rise was about 1.5 percent higher than analysts had previously predicted.

Analysts claim than low economic growth in China keeps the high roller Chinese gamblers away from Macau's casino tables, causing smaller than expected increase in the gambling industry growth of the special administrative region.

China is about to witness a generational shift in power that will likely be reflected in a change in Chinese gambling laws. The PRC will could be offering gaming choices for the gamblers inside the vast country, weakening Macau’s traditional role as a gambling sport.

However, Gabriel Chan, director at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong, expects that the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party could create even more possibilities for the Macau VIP sector, saying the new politicians elected in the congress could influence junkets to resume lending rates.

Age limit enforced in Macau casinos

Macau raised the age limit for its casinos from the previous 18 years to 21. The new regulation affects workers as well as casino guests. The regulators will inspect if the casino employees are implementing the necessary age checks to prevent under-age guests from entering the premises.

Partial smoking ban in Macau casinos

Macau casino operators are preparing to implement the tobacco ban from January 1, 2013. Casinos must choose between four options to divide their gaming floor into smoking and non-smoking areas. Their options are four-meter-wide transition areas, two-meter-high walls, special ventilation or air curtain systems. According to statistics, a staggering 60% of all Chinese males over 15 smoke, but only 4% of women do.

In the meantime, Sands China recruited 600 local residents to become dealers at their new Sands Cotai Central establishments. Macau gambling laws state that only local residents are allowed to become dealers, ensuring working places for its citizens in the gambling industry.