Macau Mass Baccarat Revenue Falls Again in Third Quarter
If you usually play online baccarat, you may not realize just how popular the game is in Macau’s land casinos and how much money it generates. In fact, baccarat is by far the most important casino game in the region, which means that even relatively small changes in player spending can have a major effect on total gaming revenue.
In the third quarter of 2026, mass-market baccarat generated MOP33.6 billion ($4.03 billion), which was its lowest quarterly total of the year. Macau mass baccarat revenue was down 4.5% from the previous three months and has now fallen in every quarter since the start of the year.
Mass Baccarat Revenue Has Fallen Throughout 2026
The year started relatively well, with mass baccarat generating MOP36.6 billion during the first quarter. This fell to MOP35.2 billion in Q2 before dropping again between July and September. Compared with the third quarter of 2025, when the game generated around MOP36.5 billion, the fall is even more significant.
Nonetheless, mass baccarat is still Macau’s biggest source of casino revenue. It accounted for approximately 55.8% of all gaming revenue during the third quarter. The mass baccarat figures include both ordinary mass-market play and the premium mass segment, which caters to richer players who do not use traditional VIP junket rooms.
Macau’s casinos have become increasingly reliant on this part of the market in recent years. In 2025, mass-market gaming as a whole accounted for around 73% of total casino revenue, which is a major change from the time when VIP baccarat dominated the industry. The fall in Q3 also happened without any reduction in Macau’s gaming capacity. The region continued to have 6,000 gaming tables and 12,000 slot machines in operation.
VIP Baccarat Revenue Increased
It wasn’t all bad news for the casinos, as VIP baccarat moved in the opposite direction during the third quarter. Revenue from VIP baccarat reached roughly MOP16.9 billion, which is an increase of 6.3% from the MOP15.9 billion generated between April and June. However, it remained below the MOP19.6 billion recorded in the first quarter. Compared with the same quarter last year, VIP baccarat revenue was almost unchanged.
Therefore, while mass baccarat revenue fell, the VIP segment at least provided some support to the overall figures. Total Macau casino revenue came to approximately MOP60.2 billion during the third quarter, which was down 1.3% from Q2 and 3.8% from the same period in 2025.
Not every game had a disappointing quarter. Slot machine revenue reached just over MOP4.09 billion, an increase of almost 19% year-on-year. Roulette also did relatively well, generating around MOP425 million, and blackjack revenue fell to approximately MOP668 million.
However, baccarat remains on a completely different scale. Mass and VIP baccarat combined generated more than MOP50 billion during the quarter, which is the vast majority of Macau’s casino revenue.
Macau Remains Ahead for the Year
Despite the decline in Macau mass baccarat revenue in the third quarter, the market remained ahead year-on-year over the first nine months of 2026.
Casino gross gaming revenue reached MOP187.1 billion between January and September, an increase of 3.2% compared with the same period last year. Much of this growth came during the first five months of the year, and then revenue began falling year-on-year in June.
The Macau government has set a full-year gaming revenue forecast of MOP236 billion. This means that at the end of September, casinos needed another MOP48.9 billion during the final quarter to reach the figure. We now know that October generated MOP21.68 billion, down 10% compared with October 2025, which leaves Macau needing around MOP27.2 billion from November and December to reach the government target.
While it is a large amount, it should still be achievable, as it works out at around MOP13.6 billion per month. However, October was the fifth consecutive month in which gaming revenue fell year-on-year, so the slowdown that began during the summer has clearly continued into the final quarter. Therefore, casinos will be hoping that this trend reverses during the final two months of the year, and that casinos will be able to meet the full-year gaming forecast.
