The Chinese New Year is here, ending the Year of the Dragon and bringing in the Year of the Snake.
As countless Chinese citizens celebrate across the country and abroad, VegasSlotsOnline News is taking the chance to look into its crystal ball. We are taking a look at Macau, the Chinese gambling hub, to determine what might change for the Special Administrative Region (SAR) as we head into the depths of 2025.
From regulatory upheavals to revenue growth, all of our predictions are based on analysis of the market over the past 12 months. Take a look at our five predictions for Macau below, and Happy New Year to everyone celebrating!
Crackdown on online gambling
In 2021, Macau authorities declared war on junkets. These are companies that promote casinos, often providing gamblers with transport to casinos as well as money on credit with which to gamble. Officials discovered that many of these firms were conducting illicit activity on the side.
authorities may start cracking down on another area – online gambling
Police arrested the heads of Macau’s two largest junkets. One of these was Sun City’s Alvin Chau, a junket billionaire. They arrested him for money laundering and cross-border gambling. But now that the junket situation appears to be more under control, authorities may start cracking down on another area – online gambling.
Steve Vickers certainly thinks they need to. The risk mitigation specialist was speaking at the Britsh Chamber of Commerce in Macau recently when he warned that former junket operators have shifted toward online gambling. Notably, Alvin Chau reportedly made $42bn from mainland Chinese online gambling between 2015 and 2019.
VSO News predicts that the Year of the Snake will be the one in which Macau authorities take Vickers’ advice and clamp down on this booming illicit industry.
More NBA collaboration
The last time that the NBA played a game in China was before the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2019. The game first traveled to the Asian country in 2004 in an attempt to increase its global reach. However, 2019 put an end to this due to comments from the then-Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey regarding the Hong Kong anti-government protests.
Sand’s China announced in December that it will host two pre-season NBA games beginning in 2025. The Brookly Nets will battle the Phoenix Suns in the first game in October 2025 at the Venetian Arena.
With the bond between the NBA and China clearly on the right path again, VSO News is predicting that there will be even more collaboration between the two in 2025. The Morey incident cost the league as much as $400m in the year following, and the NBA will be eager to recoup that and then some.
Focus on non-gaming expansion
A major headline from Macau in 2024 was the appointment of its new CEO, Sam Hou Fai. The former judge secured the role in a one-horse race, amassing 394 out of the 398 votes from the election committee. He is the first-ever chief executive for the SAR to be born on mainland China, rather than Macau itself.
later toned down this stance, saying he would not aim to shrink or shut down the industry
During his campaign, the CEO expressed some strong views about the gambling sector in Macau. He called the sector’s expansion “barbaric” when he announced his candidacy, warning that it is something that could hurt the region. He later toned down this stance, saying he would not aim to shrink or shut down the industry.
However, it is clear that Sam Hou Fai will carry on the work of his predecessor when it comes to Macau’s non-gaming focus. Former CEO Ho Iat Seng introduced a new strategy in 2023, announcing that the SAR would turn its focus to tourism, healthcare, finance, technology, and large-scale events between 2024 and 2028 in an attempt to diversify revenue streams.
As a result, Macau’s gaming giants agreed to increase non-gaming investment as part of new concessions signed that year. Wynn Resorts, for instance, said in May 2024 it would invest $2,2bn in this over the next decade.
VSO News predicts that the Year of the Snake will begin this long journey into non-gaming expansion for Macau, under the new leadership of Sam Hou Fai.
Revenue growth to continue
In 2024, Macau gross gaming revenue (GGR) exceeded expectation as visitor numbers spiked. The SAR recorded casino GGR of MOP226.78bn ($28.78bn) for the full year, up 24% compared to 2023. The total surpassed the MOP216bn ($26.96bn) prediction made by Macau regulators at the beginning of the year.
That growth came despite a decline in December GGR, which fell more than 1% from November and 2% year-on-year. It was the only month in 2024 that declined from 2023, and many have blamed a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping for reduced gaming activity.
Looking ahead to the Year of the Snake, the Macau government has set a target of MOP240bn ($29.95bn). Not only that, Ho Iat Seng, the former CEO who set the estimation, determined that it was a conservative estimate. In good news for state coffers, the government also predicts that taxes on commissions paid by casinos to junket operators will increase by 233% in 2025 as they turn the screw on the companies.
The Year of the Snake will likely be a fortuitous one for Macau casinos
VSO News predicts that not only will the prediction come to pass, it seems likely Macau operators will surpass expectation as they did in 2024. The Year of the Snake will likely be a fortuitous one for Macau casinos.
More international visitors
As part of its attempt to grow its business, the Macau government is focusing on attracting more international visitors heading into 2025. Currently, the vast majority of Macau casino visitors come from mainland China, but local authorities hope to increase the number who visit from Europe, the Middle East, and the US.
Macau is hoping that hosting the National Games event in November 2025 will contribute to this effort. This is a competition featuring table tennis, women’s volleyball, 3×3 basketball, and men’s under-18 basketball. The SAR is also the Culture City of East Asia for the year, which officials hope will boost tourism.
The government has been promoting the SAR across social media accounts to help in this goal. Its 28 social media accounts, including WeChat, Facebook, and Instagram, have more than 9 million followers in total, a jump of 45% from 2023. The government is also cooperating with media outlets of other nations, such as the BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, and the Discovery Channel.
VSO News predicts that Macau will see the benefits of this strategy in 2025, with a steep increase in international tourist visitors.