• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Tuesday 1 July 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

Two sides of the same coin

Pierce Chan by Pierce Chan
Thu 30 May 2024 at 15:57
Two sides of the same coin
22
SHARES
560
VIEWS
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

With competition between Macau’s concessionaires fiercer than ever following the demise of the junket sector, new methods of marketing are proving successful in attracting a younger demographic. But some are concerned over whether these newcomers are equipped to enter the city’s casinos.

As VIP rooms have atrophied in Macau, the gaming industry has shifted its development to the mass market. However, this change has also forced operators to enhance their offering as competition for mass and premium mass players heats up.

“The redemption requirements for hotel rooms have become easier [for customers] compared with the past,” a casino PR (sales) officer who works at a Cotai integrated resort told IAG.

IRs in Macau have always had loyalty programs whereby guests earn points based on their spend, particularly in the casino, and redeem “gifts” such as hotel room nights, meals or concert tickets. That threshold of redemption is lower nowadays.

“Redeeming a night in a hotel room might mean players would need to bet HK$100,000 in the past, but now they might only need HK$10,000, or even less,” the officer said.

Lowering the threshold for granting such “gifts” is largely related to rising competition, they added, stating, “In the past, the turnover of a customer in a VIP room was almost equal to 100 customers in the mass market. Every VIP room had its own scope of customers, but this kind of customer has decreased nowadays.

“We have to attract more customers from the mass market in order to cover the loss [of VIPs], and giving away nights in hotel rooms is a good way to attract new customers. The competition is intense. Casinos are not only competing with other casinos in attracting customers but also in achieving their company’s sales targets.”

The team of the interviewed employee targets quarterly rolling of MOP$7 billion (US$870 million) from the customers it brings in.

“Gaming operators tend to hire experienced employees for these positions, such as those who previously worked for Suncity,” they explained.

In addition to how customer marketing has evolved, adding free snacks and beverage booths in mass gaming areas is proving another effective means of satisfying player wants and needs.

It is also helping drive a new, younger mass market audience. “Zero-dollar Macau visits” emerged last year as a major marketing tool targeting the younger generation on Chinese social media platforms, allowing people to travel to Macau’s resorts by way of concessionaires’ own shuttle buses, enjoying free snacks in the casino and then being shuttled back to mainland China afterwards.

“We were worried that gamblers were growing older, but it seems that is no longer a problem,” said operator U Hong Iao, insisting casinos in Macau are becoming “younger”, since such customers respond well to this kind of marketing approach.

“Free snacks and drinks are very attractive to young people, and strategies of getting these benefits are largely spreading on social media in mainland China, where a lot of young people have heard about it and come [to Macau].”

The packaging of these free snacks and drinks is carefully designed, and some casinos even provide free ice cream from famous brands such as Häagen- Dazs. Young visitors take photos of these free snacks and upload them to social media.

“As word spreads, these kinds of promotions become free advertisements for casinos,” U continued. “Not everyone who visits Macau’s casinos for free snacks and drinks is going to gamble, but it doesn’t matter. If 100 of them play, it is a win for the casino.”

However, the emergence of this new base of younger customers has not gone unnoticed by those in the Legislative Assembly, with Legislator José Maria Pereira Coutinho pointing out in April that “The generation of gamblers in mass markets in Macau has become younger, which might cause more young people to indulge in gambling.”

U also highlights concerns over attracting a young audience with no experience with gambling.

“Young people visit casinos for snacks and start to play because of the free nights in hotel rooms. Then it can all get out of control.

“It has happened before. If young people are not prepared and think they will win because they see others winning, they can easily become addicted to gambling.”

The president of the Macau Association for Responsible Gambling, Song Wai Kit, said, “Mass market promotions offered by casinos have led to the entry of some people who were never interested in gaming and have never entered casinos before.

“We find that many young people have visited casinos to get free snacks and uploaded their photos on the internet, but we don’t know whether they have participated in gaming or not. Many more young people have entered casinos indeed.

“It’s worth noting that this trend might cause an adverse effect, as fierce competition is inevitable in the current business. But we should not disregard this problem.”

Tags: Current IssueMacau
Share9Share2
Pierce Chan

Pierce Chan

With more than five years’ experience working as a journalist in Macau, Pierce is an experienced media operator with strong skills in news writing and editing. He previously worked with Exmoo, first as a reporter covering government, gaming and tourism-related stories, then as a Deputy Assignment Editor helping set the agenda of the day. Pierce is a graduate of the University of Macau.

Current Issue

Editorial – An inconvenient truth

Editorial – An inconvenient truth

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 27 Jun 2025 at 15:21

It’s understandable that political observers, academics and members of the public in greenfield jurisdictions would express caution around the legalization...

Light & Wonder’s Siobhan Lane

Light & Wonder’s Siobhan Lane

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 27 Jun 2025 at 15:19

Siobhan Lane, Light & Wonder’s highly experienced CEO of Gaming, speaks to Inside Asian Gaming about the company’s ongoing transformation...

Honesty is the best policy

Honesty is the best policy

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 27 Jun 2025 at 14:13

The Thailand Entertainment Complex Roundtable brought industry stakeholders, politicians and supporters of the government’s Entertainment Complex Bill face to face...

Sri Lanka’s casino industry

Sri Lanka’s casino industry

by Shaun McCamley
Fri 27 Jun 2025 at 13:36

Industry veteran Shaun McCamley delves into the complex history of Sri Lanka’s casino industry at a time when the country...

Evolution Asia
Your browser does not support HTML5 video.
Aristocrat
GLI
SABA
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
NWR
Jumbo
568Win

Related Posts

Light & Wonder’s Siobhan Lane

Light & Wonder’s Siobhan Lane

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 27 Jun 2025 at 15:19

Siobhan Lane, Light & Wonder’s highly experienced CEO of Gaming, speaks to Inside Asian Gaming about the company’s ongoing transformation into a content powerhouse and reveals where Asia fits into the journey. Ben Blaschke: Thanks for speaking with IAG, Siobhan....

Behind the curtain

Behind the curtain

by Newsdesk
Fri 27 Jun 2025 at 12:40

Hospitality logistics firm BCI Worldwide has firmly established its presence in Macau, playing a part in some of the city’s most iconic integrated resort development projects. Macau, the “Las Vegas of Asia”, is a city synonymous with opulent resorts, world-class...

Of fortune or misfortune

Of fortune or misfortune

by Pierce Chan
Fri 27 Jun 2025 at 12:32

At the beginning of June, the Macau government announced that all 11 of the city’s satellite casinos would be shut down this year. The sudden news shocked the community and has led many to question whether the complete closure of...

10 years ago – Tricky balance

10 years ago – Tricky balance

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 27 Jun 2025 at 12:17

In this regular feature in IAG to celebrate 20 years covering the Asian gaming and leisure industry, we look back at our cover story from exactly 10 years ago, “Tricky balance”, to rediscover what was making the news in July...



IAG

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • 中文

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • 中文
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • 中文
  • English