Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has approved a new baccarat side bet offering odds as high as 50 times the stake. Regulator’s approval of the side bet will reportedly be welcomed by Macau’s concessionaires as a valuable addition to their respective offerings.
New Baccarat Side Bet:
According to GGRAsia, the new baccarat side bet represents a variant of the Lucky 6 bet most commonly used in Macau’s casinos. As reported by Inside Asian Gaming (IAG), the bet, also referred to as “Small 6/Big 6”, “Small Lucky 6/Big Lucky 6” or “Small Tiger/Big Tiger”, is also known as Tiger No Commission Baccarat on a global level.? However, unlike the Lucky 6 bet, the new baccarat side bet reportedly offers both two-card and three-card side bet options.
Wide Odds Range:
However called, the name of the new baccarat side bet is derived from a sum of six required for either two-card or three-card hands to win. The new side bet offers odds of 22/1 for the Small Tiger bet?and 50/1?for the Big Tiger bet. The Small Tiger bet pays the winning hand with a two-card total of 6. Likewise, the Big Tiger bet is paid for a winning hand with a three-card total of 6, as reported by IAG.
Expanding Baccarat Offerings:
The same source reports that the recently approved baccarat side bet offers a lower win potential than the traditional Lucky 6 bet. Indeed, Small 6 offers a 14.3% possibility to win, while Big 6 offers a 15.3% win potential against the 16.7% offered on traditional Lucky 6 bet. As reported, the concessionaires hope that the introduction of the new baccarat side bet will nevertheless make an appeal to customers as a part of diversified offerings from Macau‘s operators.
Compatible with Smart Table Products:
According to GGRAsia, the new bet offered in the Macau market is compatible with ”smart table products” like the Angel Eye Complete and Walker Digital Table Systems features to offer an elevated player experience to baccarat enthusiasts visiting Macau’s casinos. The baccarat game is reportedly very popular among players from Malaysia and Singapore, whose arrival into the region are expected to continue to grow in the forthcoming period.
It was the Angel Macau president Asuka Kurahashi that told GGRAsia that the bet has been approved by Macau’s regulator DICJ. As for the supplier’s Angel Eye Complete feature, the president reportedly said: ”Prior to this new side bet approval, Angel already developed the software to accommodate this new side bet, which won’t take much time. Once it comes to the actual roll-out…it’s just a matter of installing new software into the relevant devices.”
Live From 29 April 2024:
According to IAG, some concessionaires have already included the new side bet facility in baccarat table offerings. One concessionaire reportedly said that it would wait to see the bet performance and then decide upon its addition to the current baccarat wagering scope. As the regulator hasn’t made any public comments on the matter yet, the same source expects that the six Macau’s concessionaires received the necessary details to launch the new baccarat side bet from 29 April 2024.