Macau GGR down 90% in September

Gross gaming revenues totalled US$277 million for the month.

Macau.- Total gross gaming revenue (GGR) for September amounted to MOP2.21billion (US$277 million) – a 90 per cent drop year-on-year. 

That was at least an increase of 66.2 per cent month-on-month, but the results were worse than most analysts projected.

Many expected the return of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) to make September the first month since March in which GGR would decrease by less than 90 per cent.  

A pool of experts consulted by Bloomberg had forecast the year-on-year fall would be between 70 and 88 per cent, with an average of 86 per cent.

Accumulated gross revenue for the first nine months of 2020 reached MOP 38.6 billion (US$4.84 billion), 82.5 per cent below that of the same period last year.

The low numbers are not only affecting casino operators but also all of Macau’s economy.  

On Thursday, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said the government will have to make changes to the budget for 2020 for the third time due to the low tax collection from gaming. 

Ho indicated that the city’s overall income is still low and that it will be unable to fully recover until the end for the year, MNA reported.  

The government collected just MOP22.8 billion (US$2.85 billion) in gaming taxes in the first eight months of the year.