Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp says business is up nearly one-half in the first nine months of 2015.
NagaCorp, which operates NagaWorld, Cambodia’s largest casino (and the only one in the capital Phnom Penh), released an interim operation highlights report on Friday, showing gross gaming revenue up 47% to $400m, a gain of nearly $128m over the first nine months of 2014. Even better, the trend is accelerating, as Q3 revenue was up 57.8% to $144.5m.
NagaCorp’s aggressive courting of Macau casino junket operators was amply demonstrated by the performance of its VIP business, which saw year-to-date turnover rise 46% to $5.94b and revenue up 52% to $193.4m. The more profitable mass market business saw table buy-ins rise 16% to $404.5m and electronic gaming machine bills-in up 11% to $986.1m, resulting in total mass gaming revenue of $206.4m, a 43% increase over the same period last year.
NagaCorp’s boffo report stands in stark contrast to the reports emanating from Macau, which just reported its 16th straight month of gaming revenue declines, leading major junkets to openly muse about shutting down their local operations.
Meanwhile, Cambodian officials have clarified comments earlier this week that claimed the country’s casino industry generated an annual $2b in revenue. Chea Serey, director-general of the National Bank of Cambodia, made the statement earlier this week but has since amended her claim, saying the figure wasn’t based solely on gaming revenue.
Serey said the revenue total was calculated based on “tourists who come to casinos and spend money [at casinos’] hotels, restaurants and buying goods in the market.” Serey stood by her claim that the casino industry was responsible for as much as 40% of the country’s total tourism revenue.
