Macau daily GGR down last week, say analysts

The average daily rate was estimated to be approximately MOP25million (US$3.1million) reflecting a 103 percent decrease year-on-year.

Macau.- The average daily gross gaming revenue (GGR) dropped year-on-year for the seven days from May 18 to May 24 according to a report from Sanford C. Bernstein.

The average daily rate was estimated to be approximately MOP25million (US$3.1million) reflecting a 103 percent decrease year-on-year.

The decline has been attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic and dwindling visitor numbers as well as hold volatility.

Analysts Vitaly Umansky , Eunice Lee and Kelsey Zhu said that revenue “was driven by a very small number of players which drove significant volatility especially in the VIP segment.”

“VIP hold rate for last week was in the negative range, but we estimate month-to-date VIP hold rate was around the normal range,” they added.

For the whole of May, the brokerage has updated its Macau GGR estimate to from contraction of 95 per cent to 97 per cent, “largely depending on hold volatility and when visitation may resume”.

“Our contacts we have spoken with do not see any definitive clarity on travel restrictions improvement, but we expect GGR to pick up again when travel restrictions begin to be lifted,”, the analysts said.

“We expect border restrictions between Macau/Hong Kong and Macau/Guangdong to be lifted sometime in the next few weeks, in late May or early June.

“The three jurisdictions remain in discussion about reducing travel restrictions, and quarantine requirements are likely to be significantly reduced for certain travellers in the near term,” the added.