Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal, has hit a staggering £28bn in casino earnings from gamblers in 2013 and it has once again confirmed that it is the world’s biggest gambling market.
According to the data released in December 2013, the land based casinos in the tiny Chinese city of Macau raked in 33.5bn patacas or £2.55bn. This means that the revenue for 2013 is brought to 360.8bn patacas up 18.6% from 2012. Grant Govertsen, an analyst at Union Gaming Research, has estimated that Macau would take more than seven times the amount from the Las Vegas Strip.
This former Portuguese colony had ended a gambling monopoly ten years ago and let in foreign operators like Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands Corp. This competition turned Macau into a gambling powerhouse and the casino resorts centered on the Cotai Strip resemble the Las Vegas Strip.
The other markets around Asia that have been trying to duplicate the success of the small southern Chinese city envy the Macau’s casino earnings. The reason why Macau has become so popular and triggered expansion and growth is because of its excellent casino operators, the high speed ferry from Hong Kong and the billions of dollars that have been pouring into thrilling mega projects.
The main reason why Macau is the biggest gambling market in the world is because of the increasing number of high roller visitors from China that had decided to have some fun in Macau.
Based on the figures from the American Gaming Association, the revenue has already overtaken the US market where around 12,000 casinos raked in $37.3bn or £22.7bn a year ago. According to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, during the same period, Macau that had 35 casinos ranked in $38bn.