Macau GGR to drop 30% in June, analysts say

Bernstein Research predicts that Macau’s GGR will decline in June due to a new surge in Covid-19 cases in Guandong province.

Macau.- Despite showing an improvement last month, Macau’s GGR is likely to drop again in June Bernstein Research has said.

Macau saw gross gambling revenue of MOP10.45bn (US$1.31bn) in May, up 24.3 per cent compared with April.

However, Bernstein predicts GGR for June will be down 30 per cent month-on-month.

During the first week of June, GGR was MOP1.35bn (US$169m). However, recent news about a rise in Covid-19 cases in Guangdong could affect the arrival of tourists to the city.

The majority of the city’s visitors come from mainland China, which remains the only country to have a largely quarantine-free travel bubble with Macau.

Analysts added that Macau’s GGR is usually weak in June when compared to other months. They expect a further recovery within July and August during the summer holiday period.

Morgan Stanley also cut its forecast for Macau gross gaming revenue (GGR) this year by 19 per cent to US$16.3bn.

Previously, analysts had said Macau GGR could reach MOP189bn (US$23.6bn), about 65 per cent of GGR in 2019. However, it’s lowered its forecast to just 45 per cent of 2019 levels, although that would still be an improvement of 115.4 per cent in 2020.