The new-to-Macau baccarat side bets commonly referred to as ‘Lucky 7’ and its variation ‘Super Lucky 7’ have the potential to mirror the success of a Singapore-market variant known as ‘Dragon Tiger’ baccarat, offered at the Marina Bay Sands casino resort there. That is according to a number of industry experts canvassed by GGRAsia.
GGRAsia first observed the ’7s’ bets in the Macau gaming market during the October Golden Week holidays, that ran on the Chinese mainland this year from October 1 to 7 inclusive.
As of our site visit on October 3, the ’7s’ bets could already be found in most of the casino properties in the city, except for the mass and high-limit areas inside the Cotai casinos of Venetian Macao and its sister property across the road, the Londoner Macao, two properties run by Sands China Ltd.
These new-to-market side bets were later seen available at the Londoner Casino and Londoner Grand Casino within Sands China’s British-themed property. That was at the time of a GGRAsia site visit on Tuesday (October 15) this week.
Singapore-based industry commentator Daniel Cheng told GGRAsia in terms of an overview on the ’7s’ bets in Macau: “It’s always about finding ways to offer players experiences that feel more rewarding,” in terms of available payout.
He added: “This means creating games where players believe they have a better chance of winning, even if the mathematical house edge actually increases. It’s the perception of increased success that drives [players’] engagement.”
Industry sources with knowledge of the matters, told GGRAsia that the ’7s’ bets originate from Singapore’s ‘Dragon Tiger’ baccarat game. The ‘Dragon Tiger’ game has the same game rules as the ‘7s’ bets newly-seen in Macau, but with some minor differences in payouts, GGRAsia observed from the Macau gaming floors, and the Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority’s approved version of the ‘Dragon Tiger’ game.
One of those sources also noted that ‘Dragon Tiger’ is itself an extension built on the ‘Tiger Baccarat’ game found at Las Vegas Sands Corp’s Singapore property Marina Bay Sands.
The ‘Tiger Baccarat’ game has largely-similar game rules as Macau’s ‘Small 6/Big 6′ baccarat side bets, though the prevailing ’6s’ game in Macau 온라인카지노사이트 does not have the combinations of ‘Tiger Pair’ and ‘Tiger Tie’ as in the Singapore market, GGRAsia has observed from visiting Macau gaming floors.
‘Dragon Tiger’ has been amongst the popular baccarat side bets in the Singapore market, sources indicated.
Banking institution Citigroup mentioned Macau’s ’7s’ side bets in its October survey of Macau premium mass betting.
Citigroup stated: “The rules on this bet are quite simple… More importantly, because this new side bet pays as much as 100-to-1, we expect it to quickly gain popularity amongst players.”
Its analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau wrote: “Based on our understanding, the house advantage of the new [‘7s’] side bets is at mid- to high- teens [of percent], more favourable for the casinos versus the Small 6/Big 6 side bets (launched in May 2024).”
Macau-based gaming research specialist Ryan Ho previously told GGRAsia that Macau’s ‘Small 6’ bet exhibits a “house edge” of 14.33 percent, while the ‘Big 6’ side bet demonstrates a higher house edge of 15.25 percent. He said a previously-introduced side-bet game in the Macau market, known as ‘Lucky Six’, has a house edge of around 16.68 percent.
Mr Cheng noted regarding Singapore’s side bets: “Anecdotal feedback from operators indicates that ‘Dragon Tiger’ commission baccarat is particularly popular at the premium tables at Marina Bay Sands, while ‘Tiger Buffalo’ baccarat with insurance is favoured at Resorts World Sentosa.” That was a reference to the other Singapore casino complex, run by Genting Singapore Ltd.
He added: “A similar trend is observed at [Singapore] mass tables, where non-commission variants of these games are preferred.”
Yet another baccarat side bet, known in Singapore as ‘Wu Song’ baccarat, was “gaining popularity among mass players at Resorts World Sentosa,” Mr Cheng told GGRAsia. He suggested that these popular side bets contributed significantly to house win in both mass and high-limit baccarat play at the two Singapore casinos.
