The casinos, open 24 hours, tend to be quiet in the morning and pick up after lunchtime. This is followed by the slot machines – which take up a generous chunk of most gaming floors – then Black Jack and Roulette. Baccarat continues to be the most popular game by a long stretch. The house rules are pretty much the same across the city and the casinos offer similar games. In fact, some casinos only accept Hong Kong cash. It has its own currency – the pataca, or MOP$ – but in the casinos the currency of choice is the Hong Kong dollar. Macau – the only part of China where gambling is legal – now has 40 casinos. In line with a Macau Government initiative to seek economic diversification, casinos are being encouraged to develop more family-friendly projects and entertainment to help draw visitors. The Cotai Strip is where it’s all happening – three of the operators with big casinos on the Macau Peninsula have recently opened or are currently building new mega-casinos on the strip. The casinos experienced 26 consecutive months of gross gaming revenue decline and it wasn’t until August 2016 that the industry saw a turnaround.Īll of Macau’s six casino operators – SJM Holdings, Wynn Macau, Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment Group, MGM China Holdings and Melco Crown Entertainment – have expanded in the last few years, most opening big new properties. Macau’s casinos were at their peak in 2014 when gaming revenue was more than US$45 billion, cementing the city’s position as the world’s casino capital.Īnd then Beijing launched its anti-corruption crackdown, targeting the casinos and its VIP gambling segment, and the industry was hard-hit. The casino hub is bouncing back from some recent tough times.

Macau’s casinos have seen some tough times in recent years, but take a walk along the city’s casino boulevard, the Cotai Strip, and you’d never know it – a couple of mega casinos have opened recently and more are in the works.

Highest grossing casino in the world