Macau handled only 52 gambling disorder cases this year

Macau’s Social Welfare Bureau has confirmed the city’s lowest problem gambling rate in a decade with only 52 gambling disorder cases this year.

Macau.- Richard Cheang Io Tat, chief of the Social Welfare Bureau’s (IAS) Drug Addiction and Rehabilitation Department, has confirmed the city saw 52 gambling disorder cases in 2021, down from 77 last year. During an event titled “Lost Control, Lose Family”, Io Tat said the decline in gambling disorder cases could be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic and the temporary closure of casino venues.

He added that of the 52 cases, 80 per cent were local residents, and most were people aged between 35 and 49 with children. He said 27 per cent worked in the gaming industry and that most were heavily in debt and seeking help from the bureau to resolve their financial situation.

He said the bureau has stepped up its publicity efforts to educate the public about gambling disorders and has strengthened ties with family support associations to increase the likelihood of detecting cases of gambling disorders.

Morgan Stanley lowers Macau GGR forecast for 2022

Morgan Stanley Banking Group has lowered its estimate of Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) for 2022 by 30 per cent to US$15bn. According to analysts, the market has seen an intermittent recovery, but travel restrictions and regulatory uncertainty will remain in the first half of 2022. They have also reduced their estimate for 2023 by 20 per cent to US$26bn. 

The group now predicts that casino GGR in 2022 and 2023 will reach 42 per cent and 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, respectively. It forecasts that Macau casino earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) will fall by 40 per cent and 8 per cent in 2022 and 2023, respectively, to US$3.81bn and US$8.31bn.