Gaming industry’s agony to drag on through January

Wells Fargo expects gaming revenues to drop from 16 to 19 per cent year-on-year during January, the American bank announced, based on its checks up to January 4. This prediction is in line with the finance institution’s earlier report, which expected revenues to shrink 18 per cent during 2015.
According to the Wells Fargo report, Average Daily Revenue (ADR) will range in January from MOP725 million to MOP 750 million, after an average of MOP950 million in the first four days of the month. The later value, however, is considered extraordinarily high due to New Year’s Day and weekend days.
The bank highlights that the Central Government’s policies will continue to negatively affect the growth of Macau gaming industry during 2015.
“We remain on the sidelines regarding the Macau market, as we believe China’s policy settings are negatively affecting growth. In particular, we see: visa restrictions, the anti-corruption drive, a pullback in credit and a softening housing market/economy all contributing to a slowdown in Macau”, the report, written by analysts Cameron McKnight, Rich Cummings and Tiffany Lee, posits.
If the prediction of negative growth proves correct, the Macau gambling market will be shrinking for the first time for eight consecutive months. This negative sequence started in June last year with a drop of 3.7 per cent year-on-year.
In relation to 2014, the bank expects gross gaming revenue to drop 18 per cent year-on-year, which assumes a drop of 17 per cent in the VIP segment and a fall of 21.5 per cent in the mass market