Royal Intel Insight

Did free play drop in September 2026?

Per-tier free play is unchanged from prior month across the shared tiers. The month-to-month movement in the overall average is a mix shift, not a cut. The current free-play ladder is: - 1500 points: $100 free play - 2000 points: $150 free play - 3000 points: $250 free play - 4000 points: $400 free play - 6500 points: $500 free play - 9000 points: $750 free play - 15000 points: $1,000 free play - 25000 points: $1,500 free play - 40000 points: $2,500 free play - 70000 points: $5,000 free play The 1200, 800, 600, and 400 tiers do not carry free play in the current data. The weighted average free play is $1,140.5 per sailing across tiers, down from $1,237.7 last month. Because the per-tier amounts did not change, that decline comes from the offer mix shifting toward lower tiers. That is the right way to read this release. The board did not get weaker at the tier level. It got heavier in the lower and mid tiers, which naturally pulls the average down. The biggest volume gains landed in the lower tiers: - 1500 points: up 216 sailings - 2000 points: up 215 sailings - 1200 points: up 269 sailings, with no free play attached - 800 points: up 243 sailings, with no free play attached - 600 points: 191 sailings, newly present this month, with no free play attached - 400 points: 55 sailings, newly present this month, with no free play attached Higher tiers also grew in places, but not enough to offset the added weight below 3000 points. That is why the weighted average free play moved down even though the tier amounts themselves stayed fixed. If you are comparing this release to the prior month, do not read the lower average as a reduction in value at the same tier. A 4000-point sailing still carries $400 free play, and a 25000-point sailing still carries $1,500 free play. The real change is access. More sailings now sit in the 600 to 2000 range, which means more players can get into the certificate without reaching the higher free-play bands. That is useful for flexibility, but it also means the average free-play figure is less representative of the best offers on the board. This is a mix-shift month. Free play per tier is stable, the average is lower because the sailing mix moved down the ladder, and the strongest free-play values remain concentrated from 9000 points upward.