Macau GGR reaches US$1.01bn in first 17 days of September

Macau’s gross gaming revenue has surpassed setbacks earlier in the month.

Macau.- Analysts at JP Morgan Securities have reported that Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first 17 days of September was MOP8.1bn (US$1.01bn), equivalent to an average daily revenue of MOP476m. That’s an improvement from MOP430m in the first two weeks of the month, when casinos were affected by bad weather conditions.

Analysts DS Kim, Mufan Shi, and Selina Li have attributed this resurgence to the easing of weather conditions. The daily run rate for the past week ranged from MOP540 to MOP550m. Analysts still anticipate a month-on-month decline in GGR of 10 to 15 per cent to between MOP14.5 and MOP15bn. This would be short of the consensus estimate of MOP15.8bn predicted at the beginning of the month.

Macau’s GGR for August was up 686.4 per cent year-on-year and 3.3 per cent month-on-month at MOP17.21bn (US$2.13bn). Casino GGR for the first eight months of the year was MOP114.01bn (US$14.16bn).

Looking ahead to the October Golden Week, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has raised its daily visitor arrival forecast by more than 10 per cent and now expects Macau to see an average of over 100,000 visitors daily. Golden Week will run from September 29 to October 6, including the Mid-Autumn Festival on September 29 and China’s National Day on October 1. The Macau Hoteliers & Innkeepers Association has forecast that Macau will see close to full hotel occupancy.