Macau GGR to reach US$20.78bn in 2023, analysts say

Macau’s gross gaming revenue is now expected to be up 293 year-on-year but still down 43 per cent against pre-pandemic levels.

Macau.- Analysts at Deutsche Bank have predicted that Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) will reach US$20.78bn in 2023, a 293 per cent increase from last year. However, this would still be 43 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Analysts estimate that US$15.1bn will come from the mass-market, with the remaining US$5.6bn from VIP gaming. This shift in revenue is a result of operators’ efforts to reduce dependence on high-rollers.

In 2022, Macau recorded GGR of MOP42.2bn (US$5.3bn), a 51.4 per cent decrease from the previous year and the lowest single-year total since 2004. However, the city’s gaming and tourism sectors have seen improvements since the lifting of pandemic prevention and movement restrictions earlier this year.

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has reported that Macau’s gaming industry generated MOP12.73bn (US$1.57bn) in GGR in March – down 50.7 per cent compared to March 2019. For the first quarter of 2023, gaming revenue was MOP 34.6bn, representing a 94 per cent year-on-year increase.

Deutsche Bank Securities Gaming & Lodging Research managing director Carlo Santarelli noted that Sands China was responsible for a quarter of all gaming revenues in the first quarter of 2023, followed by Galaxy (19 per cent), MGM (16.3 per cent), Wynn Macau (14.2 per cent), Melco Resorts (13.1 per cent), and SJM (11.6 per cent).

Moody’s Investors Service had previously predicted that Macau’s GGR will reach 45 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels this year. In 2019, Macau’s GGR was just below MOP292.46bn (US$36.5bn). In 2022, it was just 14 per cent of that due to Covid-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions.