THE MACAU METRO MONITOR, AUGUST 19, 2013
ARISTOCRAT FIGHTS TO MAINTAIN MARKET SHARE IN MACAU Australian
Aristocrat Leisure will fight hard to fend off new competition and maintain its powerful market share in Macau as up to 8,000 new gaming machines are installed in casinos in the booming Chinese gaming province over the next five years.
Aristocrat's regional general manager based in Macau, David Punter, said that the group's goal was to maintain its current market share of 50-60% of slot machines in Macau's casinos as the number of machines doubled between now and 2018. "What you will see over the next five years on Cotai is a doubling in the number of electronic gaming machines for that area of Macau for both slot machines and e-table games. That means 6,000 to 8,000 new machines..." Punter said. Aristocrat's market share at the Wynn Macau is as high as 70%.
But competition for Aristocrat is increasing. Another Australian gaming company in Macau controlled by billionaire pokies king Len Ainsworth, of Ainsworth Gaming Technology, has snared 10% of the growing slot machine market with its Australian-built machines. Ainsworth said, "We are selling steadily up there and we are gaining market share, which is satisfactory to us. Aristocrat has the majority of the business but we are biting into that here and there. We are gaining because of the quality of our equipment and we'll continue to gain."
Punter said that while slot machines made up only 5% of gaming revenues in Macau, they accounted for up to 20% of earnings. "The growth is coming because of the profitability of the slot machines. They are less labour-intensive and probably less maintenance," he said.
VISITOR EXPENDITURE SURVEY FOR 2Q 2013 DSEC
Total spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors amounted to MOP13.9 billion in the second quarter of 2013, a notable increase of 23% in comparison with MOP11.4 billion in the second quarter of 2012.
In the second quarter of 2013, per-capita spending by visitors was MOP1,973, up by 15% year-on-year. Mainland visitors had the highest per-capita spending of MOP2,511, and spending of those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) reached MOP2,819; besides, per-capita spending of visitors from Singapore amounted to MOP1,719.
Analysed by consumption structure, visitors spent mostly on Shopping (49%), Accommodation (24%) and Food & Beverage (19%).
