Ho not hatching golden eggs
Is sports betting the solution for Macau’s long slump, now in its 17th month? The world’s No. 1 casino destination has no sports books in its lavish casinos. But this would-be golden opportunity is being overlooked by government officials, according to a report in Forbes.
Currently, casino concessionaire SJM Holdings holds the exclusive rights to sports betting at 10 locations around Macau. Macau Slot generated 736 million patacas (US$92 million) in revenue in 2014, a “paltry” amount given the market and the strength and influence of SJM, reported the South China Morning Post. That take hardly compares to the paling to reported revenues in Hong Kong, where football alone brought in HKD78.2 billion (more than US$10 billion), reports the Macau Daily Times.
David Leppo, chairman and CEO of FootballBet.com, says Macau’s new resorts on the Cotai Strip could install sports books in place of the gaming tables they planned before the government implemented a 3 percent cap on new tables.
With sports betting operations like DraftKings and FanDuel facing shutdowns in the U.S., it may be time for the industry to shift its base to Asia, Leppo believes.
The opportunity may soon present itself, the Times reported. Macau Slot’s concession ended in June, but authorities extended the monopoly for just a year.
