Macau GGR down 47.7% in August

Macau has reported gross gambling revenue of MOP$4.44bn (US$554.5m) for August, down 47.7 per cent month-on-month.

Macau.- Macau’s Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) declined by 47.7 per cent month-on-month in August, a month that was impacted by local cases of Covid-19 and hundreds of cancelled flights. At MOP$4.44bn (US$554.5m), it was the lowest monthly GGR figure since September 2020.

The figure was, however, up 234.0 per cent year-on-year when compared to the MOP$1.33bn reached in August 2020.

JP Morgan Securities Ltd said: “It shouldn’t surprise anyone given well-documented travel restrictions and effective border closure until late August.” 

Analysts also noted that the GGR run-rate improved from MOP$220m to MOP$230m per day in the last week of August, recovering to June’s levels.

Aggregate casino GGR for the first eight months of the year totals MOP$61.91bn, up 70.1 per cent year-on-year when compared to the MOP$36.39bn reached during the previous year period.

May remains the month with the highest GGR of the year to date, mainly thanks to the Labour Day break, when Macau’s Public Security Police reported that 165,500 tourists came to Macau.

Macau expects a recovery during October Golden Week

According to the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), the city could receive 25,000 visitors per day during the October Golden Week.

This year, the October Golden Week will be held during the first seven days of October. Last year, the number of visitors entering the city surpassed 20,000 a day on average.

Macao Government Tourism Office director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said: “The October Golden Week is a very important period as everyone is hoping to achieve a better business performance.”

Mainland China continues to be the only country to have a largely quarantine-free travel bubble with Macau.