Macau gaming tax revenue up 57% in April
Macau’s government collected MOP3.2bn (US$401.6m) in tax revenue from the gaming industry in April.
Macau.- Taxes on the gaming industry generated MOP3.2bn (US$401.6m) in revenue for Macau in April, up 57 per cent when compared with the previous year.
The number represents growth of 12.3 per cent when compared to the previous month, when gaming tax revenue was MOP2.85bn.
In April, Macau GGR climbed 1.01 per cent month-on-month to MOP$8.4bn (US$1.05bn). GGR for March was MOP$8.3bn (US$1.04bn).
From January to April, Macau collected MOP12.3bn (US$1.5bn) in gaming tax, which represents 25 per cent of the MOP50.01bn the city expects to record in the whole of 2021.
During the first four months of the year, Macau GGR was MOP42.4bn, up 28.7 per cent when compared to the previous year, although there was a delay in tax revenue collection records.
In the first quarter of the year, Macau collected MOP9.17bn (US$1.15bn) in tax revenue from the gaming industry.
The Financial Services Bureau reported that in 2020, tax collection from the gaming industry fell 74 per cent year-on-year to MOP79.8bn.
In May, Morgan Stanley cut its forecast for Macau gross gaming revenue (GGR) this year by 19 per cent to US$16.3bn.
Previously, analysts had said GGR could reach MOP189bn (US$23.6bn), about 65 per cent of that reported in 2019. However, the banking group now thinks it will reach just MOP130.19bn (US$16.3bn).
That would be just 45 per cent of 2019 levels, but it would be an improvement of 115.4 per cent when compared to 2020.
Morgan Stanley said it had revised its previous forecast due to the new rise in Covid-19 cases in Asia and the delay in easing travel restrictions between Hong Kong and Macau.
Mainland China remains the only country to have a largely quarantine-free travel bubble with Macau, but the city has resumed a 14-day quarantine for travellers from one district in Guangdong province due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.
As for corporate EBITDA, analysts estimate US$2.89bn, down 37 per cent from its previous prediction of nearly US$4.6bn.
