With competition between Macau’s concessionaires fiercer than ever following the demise of the junket sector, new methods of marketing are proving successful in attracting a younger demographic. But some are concerned over whether these newcomers are equipped to enter the city’s casinos.
As VIP rooms have atrophied in Macau, the gaming industry has shifted its development to the mass market. However, this change has also forced operators to enhance their offering as competition for mass and premium mass players heats up.
“The redemption requirements for hotel rooms have become easier [for customers] compared with the past,” a casino PR (sales) officer who works at a Cotai integrated resort told IAG.
IRs in Macau have always had loyalty programs whereby guests earn points based on their spend, particularly in the casino, and redeem “gifts” such as hotel room nights, meals or concert tickets. That threshold of redemption is lower nowadays.
“Redeeming a night in a hotel room might mean players would need to bet HK$100,000 in the past, but now they might only need HK$10,000, or even less,” the officer said.
Lowering the threshold for granting such “gifts” is largely related to rising competition, they added, stating, “In the past, the turnover of a customer in a VIP room was almost equal to 100 customers in the mass market. Every VIP room had its own scope of customers, but this kind of customer has decreased nowadays.
“We have to attract more customers from the mass market in order to cover the loss [of VIPs], and giving away nights in hotel rooms is a good way to attract new customers. The competition is intense. Casinos are not only competing with other casinos in attracting customers but also in achieving their company’s sales targets.”
The team of the interviewed employee targets quarterly rolling of MOP$7 billion (US$870 million) from the customers it brings in.
“Gaming operators tend to hire experienced employees for these positions, such as those who previously worked for Suncity,” they explained.
In addition to how customer marketing has evolved, adding free snacks and beverage booths in mass gaming areas is proving another effective means of satisfying player wants and needs.
It is also helping drive a new, younger mass market audience. “Zero-dollar Macau visits” emerged last year as a major marketing tool targeting the younger generation on Chinese social media platforms, allowing people to travel to Macau’s resorts by way of concessionaires’ own shuttle buses, enjoying free snacks in the casino and then being shuttled back to mainland China afterwards.
“We were worried that gamblers were growing older, but it seems that is no longer a problem,” said operator U Hong Iao, insisting casinos in Macau are becoming “younger”, since such customers respond well to this kind of marketing approach.
“Free snacks and drinks are very attractive to young people, and strategies of getting these benefits are largely spreading on social media in mainland China, where a lot of young people have heard about it and come [to Macau].”
The packaging of these free snacks and drinks is carefully designed, and some casinos even provide free ice cream from famous brands such as Häagen- Dazs. Young visitors take photos of these free snacks and upload them to social media.
“As word spreads, these kinds of promotions become free advertisements for casinos,” U continued. “Not everyone who visits Macau’s casinos for free snacks and drinks is going to gamble, but it doesn’t matter. If 100 of them play, it is a win for the casino.”
However, the emergence of this new base of younger customers has not gone unnoticed by those in the Legislative Assembly, with Legislator José Maria Pereira Coutinho pointing out in April that “The generation of gamblers in mass markets in Macau has become younger, which might cause more young people to indulge in gambling.”
U also highlights concerns over attracting a young audience with no experience with gambling.
“Young people visit casinos for snacks and start to play because of the free nights in hotel rooms. Then it can all get out of control.
“It has happened before. If young people are not prepared and think they will win because they see others winning, they can easily become addicted to gambling.”
The president of the Macau Association for Responsible Gambling, Song Wai Kit, said, “Mass market promotions offered by casinos have led to the entry of some people who were never interested in gaming and have never entered casinos before.
“We find that many young people have visited casinos to get free snacks and uploaded their photos on the internet, but we don’t know whether they have participated in gaming or not. Many more young people have entered casinos indeed.
“It’s worth noting that this trend might cause an adverse effect, as fierce competition is inevitable in the current business. But we should not disregard this problem.”
