Led by the mass-market segment and despite a slight drop in baccarat takings, casinos in Macau have recorded a 1.2% increase year-on-year in overall third-quarter revenues to $6.9 billion.

According to a report from the Macau Business Daily newspaper citing official figures from the Gaming Inspection And Coordination Bureau regulator, total revenues from mass-market table games and slots during the three months to the end of September improved by 3.9% year-on-year to hit about $3.29 billion with the overall rise representing the first since the second quarter of 2014.

However, the picture was not completely positive as total third-quarter revenues from games of VIP baccarat fell slightly to $3.57 billion although the segment retained its position as the main source of income for Macau casinos at 52%.

The figures from the Gaming Inspection And Coordination Bureau additionally showed that games of mass-market baccarat generated revenues of $2.44 billion during the third quarter of the year, which represented a fall of some 3.6% from the $2.34 billion recorded for the same three-month period in 2015.

Macau Business Daily reported that baccarat as a whole accounted for 87.2% of the $6.88 billion in third-quarter revenues derived from games of fortune while slots saw their overall takings for the three-month period slip by 3.4% year-on-year to $350.37 million despite an 11% annual boost in the number of machines to 15,769.

Third-quarter revenues from greyhound racing bets maintained the continuous decline started in 2011 with the most recent $1.62 million representing a 41% deterioration quarter-on-quarter while the segment now accounts for only 0.02% of total takings. July saw track operator Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome Company ordered to relocate or shut its Macau Canidrome Club within two years after recording an 82% drop in annual profits for 2015 to approximately $600,648.

Finally, the report from the Gaming Inspection And Coordination Bureau explained that overall third-quarter revenues from activities such as sportsbetting, lotteries and horse and greyhound racing came in at $26.9 million to represent 0.4% of total takings for the three-month period.