Macau’s gaming revenue rose 14.8% in August, exceeding forecasts as demand for entertainment rose during China’s summer vacation, providing growth momentum for the world’s largest casino hub.
Gross gaming revenue reached 19.8 billion patacas ($3.22 billion) for the month, according to data released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau on Sunday.
The median analyst’s estimate was for a 13.2% y-o-y increase. The result was 6.2% higher than July, and showed revenue returning to about 80% of pre-pandemic levels.
Macau’s gaming revenue picked up in August, benefiting from higher travel demand during summer vacation among mainland Chinese, who make up for the bulk of the city’s visitors.
The casino hub reported 3 million visitor arrivals in July, which was 86% of the pre-pandemic level. The city will release data for August later this month.
Tourists’ bigger appetite for entertainment amid an uncertain outlook for China’s economy has partly offset weaker sentiment among big-spending gamblers.
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The city is facing a new round of crackdowns, targeting the city’s ubiquitous money exchangers, as Beijing seeks to curb capital outflows and money laundering.
Macau officials are planning to add a provision to a bill on gaming crimes, allowing for up to five years imprisonment of those who exchange or lend money to gamblers without authorisation.
The plan follows a series of Chinese government meetings and state media coverage in recent months, highlighting major arrests involving illegal money exchanging activities and cross-border gambling
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Macau’s former top judge Sam Hou Fai, widely expected to take over as the city’s new leader in October, also made a strongly worded statement last week against the economic dominance of the territory’s casino industry. At a press briefing, Sam warned of the “wild” expansion of the gaming sector.
“For a period of time, the tourism and gaming industry developed in a disorderly manner and expanded wildly,” Sam Hou Fai, the ex-president of Macau’s Court of Final Appeal, said at an Aug 28 press briefing. “Having one dominant industry is not beneficial for Macau’s long-term development and has had a very negative impact.”
The expansion of casinos has strained the resources of society such as manpower and even narrowed the career choices of young people, Sam said. The city needs to diversify away from the industry, he said.
The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Macau casino operators fell 7% in August, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 3.7%.
