Macau’s gaming industry has proven its resilience, with the latest figures from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) highlighting positive developments across multiple segments for the third quarter of 2025. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the city reached an impressive MOP 62.57 billion (US$7.83 billion), marking a 12.5% increase compared to the previous year. This growth is indicative of the sector’s recovery and reflects the strength of the city’s gaming offerings.

VIP Baccarat Performance and Market Share Growth

One of the standout performers in the September quarter was Macau’s VIP baccarat segment. This high-stakes section of the casino market generated MOP 16.89 billion (US$2.11 billion) in GGR, which represents a 3.4% rise compared to the second quarter and a remarkable 29.1% year-on-year increase. Despite the challenges faced by Macau’s VIP sector in recent years, the latest data suggests that it continues to attract significant attention, maintaining its important role in the overall gaming landscape.

The growth in VIP baccarat can be attributed to a variety of factors. In Q3 2025, the segment accounted for almost 27% of Macau’s total GGR, up from 23.5% the previous year. While the sector is still recovering from the downfall of prominent junket operators such as Suncity Group and Tak Chun Group, the numbers point to a potential revival. However, it remains well behind its 2013 peak when VIP baccarat contributed a much larger share of the market.

Mass-market baccarat, the second-largest segment, also performed solidly in Q3 2025, generating MOP 36.5 billion (US$4.56 billion), which represented a 7.1% increase year-on-year and a 2.6% rise compared to the previous quarter. This increase allowed mass-market baccarat to maintain its dominant position, although its share of the overall GGR dropped slightly to 58.2%, compared to 61.1% in the same period last year.

Broader Trends in Macau’s Casino Market

Beyond the baccarat segments, other parts of Macau’s gaming market have also shown mixed results. Slot machine play, for example, brought in MOP 3.45 billion (US$429.65 million) during the quarter, marking a 10.5% increase from the previous year but a slight decline of 2.0% compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Live Multi Game play revenue saw a small dip, down to MOP 1.24 billion (US$154.88 million) from the previous quarter’s MOP 1.26 billion (US$157.37 million).

Sports betting experienced a downturn in Q3 2025 as well. Football betting revenue fell to MOP 991 million (US$123.78 million), while basketball betting earned MOP 412 million (US$51.46 million), marking drops from the second quarter. These declines are part of a broader trend of reduced sports betting activity in Macau.

According to GGRAsia, despite these mixed results, analysts remain optimistic about the outlook for Macau’s casino industry. CreditSights Inc., a credit and market research firm, has projected that Macau’s gaming sector will be able to meet its 2025 GGR target of MOP 228 billion. For the fourth quarter, the city would need to average MOP 15.6 billion in monthly GGR to hit this target, which is well within reach given that the year-to-date average has been MOP 20.1 billion.

The first nine months of 2025 have already seen GGR of MOP 181.34 billion, a 7.1% year-on-year increase. With just one quarter remaining, the sector is poised to achieve its annual goal, driven in part by strong performances in the VIP and mass-market baccarat segments, as well as steady gains in other areas such as slot machines.