Macau junkets taking deadbeat VIPs to court amid fears VIP biz will never recover

Macau casino operators are increasingly fearful that the once white-hot VIP gaming sector will never regain its former glories.

Macau casino gaming revenue fell for the 15th straight month in August and, while numbers are down across the board during this span, the VIP sector has suffered the most. A note issued this week by Wells Fargo analysts has reinforced growing pessimism that a ‘V-shaped’ rebound may not be in Macau’s cards.

Wells Fargo said mass market gaming trends were ‘stable’ even though prior projections of modest growth have yet to materialize and “visibility into 2016 appears to be limited.” Mass market gaming revenue was down 30.3% in August, slightly better than the overall market’s 35.5% decline.

The VIP sector fared far worse, with turnover down 54%, a worse result than the 51% decline reported in July. Fortunately, an above average hold rate held August’s VIP revenue decline to a mere 40.4%.