# Macau VIPs Down Nearly 20% In June

Macau's casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) fell 3.7% in June, probably due to slowing growth in the VIP sector, a research house says.

"We are likely that the VIP segment tracked about 20% year-over-year in June and the mass market continued to track at a rate of about +30%," Union Gaming Research Macau Ltd wrote in a note.

Macau's June casino GGR was MOP 27.22 billion ($3.41 billion), down from MOP 28.3 billion a year ago, official data showed.

Macau casinos saw their annual GGR triple from about 120 billion MOPs since 2009 to 360 billion MOPs in 2013.

On Tuesday, Macau's Economy and Finance Minister Francis Tam Park said the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was a factor contributing to the June GGR decline. The month-long tournament starts on June 12 and ends on July 13.

But Mr Tam added that it was too early to make any assumptions about future trends, and that the market should not be judged only by a month's figure.

"[June's] GGR comp was tough at +21.1% year-on-year, and calendar comps were also not good as Saturdays were reduced," Union Gaming said.

"We continue to believe that the VIP slowdown is essentially political (e.g., anti-corruption) rather than economic or even event-driven (e.g., World Cup, although this could be responsible for hundreds of basis points of VIP decline)." said the institute.

"We also expect VIPs to continue to weaken in the short term, and it's no surprise that the overall GGR will continue to decline to a mid-single-digit low throughout the summer."

Several analysts said they expected earnings to recover in the second half of 2014. "The worst is almost over," Deutsche Bank game analyst Karen Tang said in a note before the figures were released. [카지노사이트](https://https://www.outlookindia.com/outlook-spotlight/2023%EB%85%84-%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%9D%84-%EB%8C%80%ED%91%9C%ED%95%98%EB%8A%94-%EC%B9%B4%EC%A7%80%EB%85%B8-%EC%82%AC%EC%9D%B4%ED%8A%B8-best-10--news-326663)

Union Gaming said he did not believe that the long-term weak VIP story was necessarily based on consensus. "Recent conversations with investors have suggested building consensus on a flat VIP story over the coming months," it said.

Analysts at UBS AG said they expected earnings growth to resume in the third quarter due to the mass sector entering a strong summer month and "some stabilization of VIP volumes."