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Macau’s casino regulator has approved 3 new baccarat side bets for the market, according to industry sources and an updated guideline reviewed by GGRAsia. The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau’s guideline, marked as taking effect from March 23, sets out the approved play rules for the side-bet products named Monkey no Monkey, Pairs+, and 4/5/6 Cards.
This is the latest in the already diverse offerings of Baccarat in Macau, where side bets are becoming more common in mass floor and high-limit Baccarat tables. These new approvals are the latest in the general trend of more intelligent table technology and more diverse wagering options, which has seen casinos evolve in their offerings of Baccarat.
Monkey no Monkey Rules and Payouts
The Monkey no Monkey side bet wins if the cards initially dealt in aggregate for the player hand and the banker hand make up either 4 face cards, meaning jack, queen, or king combinations, or 4 numbered cards, ranging from ace through 10. That is the rule set laid out in the regulator’s guideline.
The payout differs depending on the card outcome. A winning wager pays 50 to 1 if the cards initially dealt are 4 face cards. If the cards initially dealt are 4 numbered cards, the payout is 1 to 1. The structure gives the product a split outcome profile, with a much higher return attached to the face-card result.
Pairs+ Brings 3 Payout Tracks
The Pairs+ side bet pays when the banker hand and/or the player hand receives a pair in its first 2 dealt cards. The product has 3 tracks of play, with the payout varying depending on how both hands are dealt.
Where only the banker hand or only the player hand has a pair in their first 2 cards, a payoff of 3 to 1 is made. If both of the first 2 cards of both banker hand and player hand have a pair, but with differing point scores, a payoff of 30 to 1 is made. The highest payout on Pairs+ is 300 to 1, which applies when both hands form pairs in their first 2 cards and do so with equal point scores.
4/5/6 Cards Cover Banker and Player Wins
The 4/5/6 Cards side bet offers 6 tracks of play, divided between banker-hand wins and player-hand wins. The regulator’s guideline outlines separate payout levels depending on how many cards are used in the hand combination.
For banker-hand wins, the payout is 4 to 1 when the banker hand wins on no more than 4 cards dealt in aggregate across the banker hand and player hand. The payout becomes 4.5 to 1 when the banker hand wins on 5 cards dealt in combination, and 5.5 to 1 when the banker hand wins on 6 cards dealt in combination.
For player-hand wins, the payout is 4 to 1 when no more than 4 cards are dealt in aggregate. The payout is 6 to 1 on 5 cards dealt in aggregate, while the return falls to 4.5 to 1 when 6 cards are dealt in aggregate.
Side Bets Remain a Macau Trend
Side bets on baccarat have been widely adopted in Macau since 2024, helped by smart table technology and operators’ interest in boosting the house edge. The Small 6/Big 6 side bet was rolled out market-wide ahead of the Labour Day holiday in May 2024, while Lucky 7 and Super Lucky 7 were introduced later that year, around the National Day holiday period on the Chinese mainland.
The market has continued to evolve since then. Sands China Ltd had been offering a baccarat progressive jackpot from mid-July 2025, but that offer ended effective March 16, according to notices seen on its casino floors. Other Macau operators also simplified their baccarat side-bet options in the second half of last year across mass-floor and high-limit baccarat games, showing that product adjustments remain an active part of the market’s table-game mix.
Source: GGR Asia
