In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Stephanie Raquel, Zeng Zhonglu of the Macau Polytechnic Institute explains why electronic gaming machines in Macau is not getting that much revenue compared to Las Vegas and other markets.
Electronic gaming machines (EGM) is growing in popularity in Macau. Last year, EGM posted a strong performance, particularly the “stadium-style” multi-seat electronic table game set-ups.
However, Zeng Zhonglu of the Macau Polytechnic Institute said EGM revenue accounted only for just 5 percent of the total gaming revenue in the city state, way too low compared to Las Vegas’s numbers.
“You see in Las Vegas, the [EGM] revenue accounts for 74 percent of the gaming revenue. So Macau, in comparison with Las Vegas, the revenue is too low,” Zhonglu told CalvinAyre.com.
The reason, he said, is a lot of Macau’s visitors either don’t know how to play electronic gaming machines or can’t be bothered learning to play one.
Zhonglu said he surveyed 1,000 people five years ago, and found that 70 percent of these people don’t know how to play, while 55 percent “don’t have enough time to play electronic table games.”
“For table games, if you don’t know how to play, you can learn by watching, just stand by and watch people how they are playing and you can learn. But for slot machines, is it polite to stand by him and watch his play? Of course not, so people cannot learn by watching,” the professor explained.
To address this issue, Zhonglu said EGM operators should find a way to help visitors learn how to play the machines.
“Machine operators shall have better instructions on the machine so when people don’t know how to play they can find the instructions they can learn, this is the first. Second, there must be some people responsible for teaching new players, show them how to play and maybe they can have some machines for people to play for free so that people can learn,” the professor said.
The upcoming iGaming Asia Congress will open the discussions on the Asian iGaming market, including the current state of electronic gaming machines in these parts. CalvinAyre.com has always enjoyed being part of iGaming Asia Congress, and this year will be no different. Expect the CalvinAyre.com team to provide an extensive coverage of the event straight from the event’s floor.
