Nevada regulators lack access to casino AML filings. Thursday, August 13, 2026 1:45 PM Photo: Resorts World Las Vegas (courtesy) * Brian Joseph, Casino Reports Email, LinkedIn, and more This isn't the first time casinos on the Las Vegas Strip have been embroiled in an anti-money laundering scandal. About a decade ago, Las Vegas Sands, then the operator of The Venetian, and Caesars Entertainment both were under fire for lapses in reporting suspicious transactions. Sands paid the federal government $47.4 million for failing to file Suspicious Activity Reports about Zhenli Ye Gon, an alleged international drug trafficker who was once The Venetian's largest cash bettor. Caesars paid FinCEN an $8 million civil penalty for failing to appropriately police its private gaming salons, allowing what the agency called "some of the most lucrative and riskiest financial transactions to go unreported.

Sands China 2Q26 profit halves YoY as low Macau hold cuts earnings. Sands China's net income fell 50 percent year-on-year to $107 million in the second quarter of 2026, after what Las Vegas Sands (LVS) chairman and CEO Patrick Dumont described as "unusually low hold in rolling play" in Macau. The casino operator's consolidated net revenue declined 0.8 percent to $1.78 billion, according to financial results released by parent company Las Vegas Sands (LVS). Adjusted property EBITDA fell 24 percent to $430 million, while the EBITDA margin narrowed to 24 percent from 31.5 percent. Sands China recorded a rolling-chip win rate of 1.35 percent, down 221 basis points from the prior-year period. The unfavorable result reduced adjusted property EBITDA by an estimated $87 million. By comparison, favorable rolling play added $7 million to EBITDA in the second quarter of 2025. At a normalized win rate, Macau EBITDA would have reached approximately $517 million, with a margin of 26.7 percent. Poor luck therefore accounted for much of the reported decline, but not all of the pressure on profitability. Hold-normalized EBITDA was approximately $559 million in the prior-year quarter, with a margin of 31.3 percent. The weaker earnings came despite what LVS described in its presentation as gaming volume growth in 'every segment'. Rolling-table volume increased 73 percent, non-rolling table volume rose 15 percent and slot and electronic table game volume grew 30 percent. Non-rolling table win increased 7 percent to $1.47 billion, while slot win rose 21 percent to $222 million. Rolling win fell 35 percent to $102 million because of the low hold. Sands China estimated that its share of Macau's mass-market gaming revenue increased to 25 percent from 24 percent a year earlier. Its combined mass table and slot revenue rose 8 percent to approximately $1.69 billion. LVS said Macau's revenue growth remained 'highly skewed toward the premium segment', which 'remains deeply competitive'. The company has continued investing in premium suites, hospitality products and service levels across its Macau portfolio. Londoner leads Macau property revenue. The Londoner Macao was Sands China's highest-revenue property during the quarter, surpassing The Venetian Macao. Its net revenue increased 10.6 percent year-on-year to $710 million, compared with $591 million at The Venetian. Despite the revenue growth, The Londoner's adjusted property EBITDA fell 6.3 percent to $192 million. Its EBITDA margin narrowed to 27 percent from 31.9 percent. The Venetian recorded a 10.9 percent decline in revenue, while EBITDA fell 30.1 percent to $165 million. Revenue at The Parisian Macao increased 12.4 percent to $218 million, although EBITDA declined 13.6 percent to $38 million. The Four Seasons Hotel Macao and Plaza Casino posted the steepest decline. Revenue fell 29.4 percent to $137 million and EBITDA dropped 69.7 percent to $20 million. Sands Macao was the only property to record growth in both measures. Revenue rose 33.8 percent to $95 million, while EBITDA increased 22.2 percent to $11 million. At group level, LVS reported a 28.1 percent decline in net income to $373 million. Consolidated adjusted property EBITDA fell 16.1 percent to $1.12 billion, while net revenue slipped 0.7 percent to $3.15 billion. LVS repurchased $787 million of its shares during the quarter. Its board subsequently increased the remaining share-repurchase authorization to $6 billion and extended the program through July 2029. Singapore retreats from recent highs. Marina Bay Sands (MBS) generated adjusted property EBITDA of $689 million, down 10.3 percent from $768 million a year earlier. Its EBITDA margin declined to 49.9 percent from 55.3 percent. The result marked a retreat from the property's recent highs. Marina Bay Sands generated EBITDA of $788 million in the first quarter of 2026, after reaching a record $806 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Higher-than-expected rolling hold added $37 million to second-quarter EBITDA, compared with an $80 million benefit a year earlier. On a normalized basis, EBITDA would have been approximately $652 million. Mass gaming revenue rose 5 percent to $886 million. Non-rolling table win increased 6 percent to $595 million, while slot win rose 3 percent to $291 million. Rolling volume grew 4 percent to $9.3 billion, with a win rate of 4.74 percent. Last update: 23 July 2026, 07:29 am Viviana Chan is an editor, interpreter, and journalist. With over a decade of experience, she writes in English, Chinese, and Portuguese. Viviana started her career in Macau-based newspapers, where she became passionate about the region's social, financial, and cultural development. Her writing focuses on the economy, emerging industries, gaming development, political affairs, and cross cultural-exchange in the business and cultural domains. She is avid for news and eager to discover and cover stories that generate public relevance.

"Unusually low" rolling play hold hits Sands China in 2Q26 as revenue down 15.6% quarter-on-quarter to US$1.78 billion. Macau concessionaire Sands China Ltd recorded total net revenues of US$1.78 billion in the three months to 30 June 2026, down 0.8% year-on-year and 15.6% lower than Q1, with the company pointing to "unusually low hold in rolling play" as negatively impacting the quarter's results. Releasing its 2Q26 figures this morning, parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) also revealed a 50.0% year-on-year decline in net income in Macau to US$107 million, while Adjusted EBITDA from Macau operations fell 24.0% year-on-year and 32.1% quarter-on-quarter to US$430 million. According to LVS, the low VIP hold of 1.35% and impact of the World Cup in June hid a strong quarter for Sands China, which saw gaming volumes grow across all segments, including an all-time high in mass GGR in May. The company pointed to a 100bps increase in Macau mass market GGR share in Q2 to 25.0%, however Adjusted Property EBITDA margin decreased 750bps to 24.0%. The impact was most heavily felt at The Venetian Macao, where total revenues fell 10.9% year-on-year to US$591 million, including a 12.8% decline in casino revenues to US$457 million. Adjusted Property EBITDA was down 30.1% to US$165 million. By comparison, The Londoner Macao saw total revenues grow by 10.6% year-on-year - albeit down 5.8% sequentially - to US$710 million including a 10.7% rise in casino revenue to US$548 million. Adjusted Property EBITDA fell 6.3% to US$192 million but notably surpassed The Venetian Macao for the first time. At The Parisian Macao, net revenues grew by 12.4% year-on-year to US$218 million with casino revenue rising 15.4% to US$165 million. Adjusted Property EBITDA fell slightly to US$38 million. Elsewhere, Sands China saw a 29.4% decline in net revenues at The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Macao to US$137 million while Sands Macao saw net revenues fall 33.8% to US$95 million. In Singapore, LVS saw a slight decline from the record-breaking performance of the March 2026 quarter, with net revenues falling by 0.6% year-on-year and 7.4% quarter-on-quarter to US$1.38 billion. Adjusted Property EBITDA fell 10.3% year-on-year and 12.6% quarter-on-quarter to US$689 million. LVS said mass win grew by 5% year-on-year while rolling win fell 7%, with the company noting a clear impact in June from the World Cup on its premium player volumes. Adjusted Property EBITDA margin decreased 540bps to 49.9%. "We continued to execute our strategic objectives during the quarter in both Singapore and Macau while continuing to increase the return of capital to shareholders," said LVS Chairman and CEO Patrick Dumont. "In Macau, our ongoing investments in enhanced service and hospitality offerings contributed to growth in volumes across all gaming segments as compared to the prior year, although unusually low hold in rolling play negatively impacted our reported financial results for the quarter. "At Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, we continued to deliver industry-leading financial performance. "Looking ahead, we remain confident that our people, our products and our focus on delivering outstanding service, hospitality and entertainment experiences to our customers will drive growth for the company and deliver strong returns to our shareholders in the years ahead." Group wide net revenue was down 0.9% year-on-year to US$3.15 billion, with net income down 28.1% to US$373 million and Adjusted Property EBITDA down 15.8% to US$1.12 billion.