Gambling turism & Macau

[paxmao]

Since 2007, Macau took over in profits the famous "Stripe" of Las Vegas. The official tax is not a small thing: 40% total.

But what is more interesting is that Macau is much more effective moving the money from the customer to the profit line, precisely 10x more than Vegas and more than anywhere else in the world. This may be due to Las Vegas making plenty of revenue unrelated to gambling.

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[Yogee]

...This may be due to Las Vegas making plenty of revenue unrelated to gambling.

I don't think so. I bet Macau is more accessible to all tourists from Western and Eastern parts of the world compared to Vegas. They probably do not have strict travel requirements compared to other countries too. These are enough reasons to visit Macau instead of Vegas to gamble.

[alegotardo]

Seeing this graph, I cannot understand how even today there are countries that prohibit casinos and gambling in yoursterritory.

I agree with the opinion of @Yogee, the less control/bureaucracy the country has in the entrance of visitors, the greater the chances of receiving more tourists.

@paxmao, in your image it says that this chart has data from 2012, would you happen to have something more recent?

[dothebeats]

Macau isn't as strict as other gambling hubs in the world. Seeing how tourism and gambling is their main industry, it'd be a waste if they were to impose a lot of restrictions and conditions before one can enter the country. Also, I think people grew tired of the Western gambling culture and are actively seeking Macau and its neighboring countries for a new experience. Most people I saw during my stay there were Westerners, so I guess people really are just looking for a new environment and experience apart from the gambling stuff.

[iTradeChips]

Well, this information is from 2012, from 9 years ago. Maybe there are now some changes that happened to these respective countries that made big changes and possibly alter Macau's reputation as the city with the highest revenue per visitor. Also with the pandemic on going, that has likely resulted to massive changes with the way people gamble and now the competition would be not by country but possibly by website or app, as many gambling platforms started making this online.

[swogerino]

Las Vegas is more of an icon to gambling compared to Macau.However Western countries impose a lot of restrictions compared to Macau so that must be the number one reason why Macau is becoming more and more attractive to gamblers.Personally I always prefer Vegas though,the ambient there is the greatest in the world from a gambler point of view.

[madnessteat]

Well, this information is from 2012, from 9 years ago. Maybe there are now some changes that happened to these respective countries that made big changes and possibly alter Macau's reputation as the city with the highest revenue per visitor. Also with the pandemic on going, that has likely resulted to massive changes with the way people gamble and now the competition would be not by country but possibly by website or app, as many gambling platforms started making this online.

Yes, the pandemic has taken its toll on the offline gambling industry. If I am not mistaken at the beginning of March in Macau they cancelled the coronavirus test for casino visitors and now they are only required to comply with social distancing and casinos are required to create conditions for this. If you consider that the pandemic affected offline gambling establishments around the world, Macau can still be considered a leader in the offline gambling industry.  

[rhomelmabini]

What's surprising to see is that a third-world country (I think it's much developing now and considering the data was way back 2021) like Philippines is at fourth in the list. It would be nice to see if we can see the updated and not this outdated one especially last year when pandemic strikes.

[crzy]

Do you have any updated data since its quiet old already, at least a 2 years ago or so?
Anyway, if you're living in a developing countries, its really hard to get Visa and go travel to Vegas, so the best options for Asian people is Macau which attracts many gamblers as well. Macau is just a small island but if you can see the number of tourist here and players, that can really generate a good profit.

[milewilda]

...This may be due to Las Vegas making plenty of revenue unrelated to gambling.

I don't think so. I bet Macau is more accessible to all tourists from Western and Eastern parts of the world compared to Vegas. They probably do not have strict travel requirements compared to other countries too. These are enough reasons to visit Macau instead of Vegas to gamble.

Was actually to say on what are the things in my mind too about Macau had been accessible and having no complicated travel or visit out requirement and not only that
when it comes to venues then this place isnt something that you can ignore even though people do have impressions that Las Vegas is the best but the truth
is that there are much more better venues which can offer or even more than on what Vegas does.
This video do give out some nice info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etACV_yP4L8

[dunfida]

Since 2007, Macau took over in profits the famous "Stripe" of Las Vegas. The official tax is not a small thing: 40% total.

Comparing on Las Vegas 6.75% of GGR the its really a too far gap for us to say and even talking the overall tax represent 78% in Macau's income but still a big cut to the pie but having that almost 85,000/day of count of people who do visit out everyday then its no surprise that they will really be imposing such high taxation with this.If they do able to survive out that 40%then that do simply shows out that the business is really sustainable or really earning big for them not to make any complaints.

[romero121]

Do you have any updated data since its quiet old already, at least a 2 years ago or so?
Anyway, if you're living in a developing countries, its really hard to get Visa and go travel to Vegas, so the best options for Asian people is Macau which attracts many gamblers as well. Macau is just a small island but if you can see the number of tourist here and players, that can really generate a good profit.

From the image it is clear that the data is from the year 2012. This is almost nine years old data, now it will be having big variation in data. As said, Macau is termed as Las Vegas of Asia. For people who wish to spend in a casino and enjoy gambling can visit it. As it tourism and gambling industry is the Major revenue provider for the country, it has got such a high percentage of tax.

[Hydrogen]

Interesting topic.  

I think macau offers significantly larger maximum betting limits in contrast to vegas. There was a story in the news years back where Vegas Dave bet $1 million dollars on Miesha Tate to defeat Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 back in 2016. Some said the story was fake -- vegas doesn't accept million dollars bets on MMA/UFC. It was later claimed the million dollar bet was made in macau, which appears to offer million dollar bet limits in some cases. Many sportsbooks in vegas might only accept a $2k to $10k maximum bet on MMA/UFC events. Macau offering $1 million dollar betting limits could imply their profits scale upwards proportionately.

As some said, macau is less regulated and taxed in contrast to vegas, which would make it easier for them to offer extended betting $ limits. To sustain catering to a more wealthy and upscale clientale with larger bankrolls of money to burn.

[AmoreJaz]

What's surprising to see is that a third-world country (I think it's much developing now and considering the data was way back 2021) like Philippines is at fourth in the list. It would be nice to see if we can see the updated and not this outdated one especially last year when pandemic strikes.

hard to find an updated list specific to this category. but i believe, Philippines is included in the list because they have a lot of casinos & resorts already. as it mentioned here , they have more casinos than Macau. and a lot more nationalities can enter this country without so much hullabaloo just like in Macau.

but if you want to check out some newer stats, you can also check this site -
https://www.casino.org/features/gambling-statistics/

[uneng]

Probably the number of gamblers in Macau is much lower compared to the Las Vegas ones.  
On the other hand, Macau gamblers spend a lot of money playing there, consequently increasing the local average percentage of revenue per visitor. That is my theory.

[shoreno]

with the pandemic on going, that has likely resulted to massive changes with the way people gamble and now the competition would be not by country but possibly by website or app, as many gambling platforms started making this online.

the competition are still the same and it can still be by country despite of the owners moving online because when we visit or play on an online casino our location can be recorded  .

 they will know if what country a gambler is playing , they can tally this all for future purposes and will be used if there will be survey conducted pertaining into online gambling but what you are saying is also possible , they can also do a survey if which online gambling are hot and whats not

[acroman08]

after seeing this(image below) it is no wonder Macau makes more revenue than las vegas. Macau caters to a larger market by allowing the tourist from picked countries to visit their country without a visa.

source

[Mauser]

Since 2007, Macau took over in profits the famous "Stripe" of Las Vegas. The official tax is not a small thing: 40% total.

But what is more interesting is that Macau is much more effective moving the money from the customer to the profit line, precisely 10x more than Vegas and more than anywhere else in the world. This may be due to Las Vegas making plenty of revenue unrelated to gambling.

That is quite interesting. Does it mean that if casinos in Macau make 10x more profit of their vistors that people are losing more money over there? I have only been no Las Vegas, but plan on going to Macau once the pandemic is over. Not so sure about it now, because I would like to choose the casinos where we can make the most profits. So wouldn't it be better to choose the city which makes less profits of their visitors? Since the profits of the casinos are our loss and vice versa.

[jrrsparkles]

But I guess vegas is still have more visitors than Macau or am I wrong?

Well, if Vegas is more convenient for the actual gamblers then its a good thing and also the taxation is a big loss from their rewards but that's how it's used to be.

[Mauser]

But I guess vegas is still have more visitors than Macau or am I wrong?

Well, if Vegas is more convenient for the actual gamblers then its a good thing and also the taxation is a big loss from their rewards but that's how it's used to be.

I am not sure how it is right now due to the corona pandemic, but in 2019 Las Vegas had more visitors than Macau. Las Vegas had roughly 42.5m visitors and Macau only 39m.(https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/02/07/travel/las-vegas-advisor/las-vegas-advisor-las-vegas-visitor-numbers-tumble/)