Sands China said Thursday that it is starting to see a gradual uptick in the propensity of players in Macau wagering on baccarat side bets – although their percentage of total wagers placed still remains well below its Singapore peer Marina Bay Sands.
The issue of side bets was raised during parent company Las Vegas Sands’ (LVS) 1Q26 earnings call, with Sands being one of a number of operators to have previously stated that the higher margin betting options were not as popular among players in Macau as they have been in Singapore.
In fact, so significant has their impact been at Marina Bay Sands that LVS recently abandoned traditional hold calculations in favor of a new quarterly methodology, because smart tables have allowed them to calculate exact hold expectations on a rolling basis.
There has been no such shift in approach in Macau, although the city’s gaming regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), last month approved three new side bet options for the market – “Monkey no Monkey”, “Pairs+” and “4/5/6 Cards”.
Sands China’s CEO, President and Executive Director Grant Chum also confirmed Thursday that the company has rolled out some new side bets over the past week, which IAG understands to be “Monkey no Monkey” and “Pairs+”.
“In terms of … popularity, it remains true that the take-up of side bet, especially as a percentage of total wagers, is much higher still in Marina Bay Sands than in Macau,” said Chum.
“That said, the take-up of side wagers in Macau is increasing. The propensity to wager on these side wagers, we do see a progressive trend upwards. And I think the introduction of these new side wagers that we’ll be implementing now and in the next few months will further enhance their propensity.”
The new side bet options are available at The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and Sands Macao, with the “4/5/6 Cards” option set for implementation in the near future according to information gathered by IAG.
Both Sands China and Marina Bay Sands use Angel’s hybrid smart table technology.
