Casino revenue hits 3-year high in Macau
The casino revenue reported in October in Macau was the highest in the last three years.
Macau.- Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau revealed yesterday that casino revenue in October reached its highest peak in three years. Last month featured the Golden Week, the biggest national holiday, which took place between October 1-8.
Whilst it was estimated a 13 to 18 percent increase, gross gaming receipts increased 22.1 percent to US$3.3 billion, considerably higher than anticipated. The casino revenue gains were the highest since October 2014, and rising from the previous year for a 15 consecutive month of revenue gains. Mainland China visitors increased 11 percent during the Golden Week, and operators like Wynn and MGM reported that all their hotel rooms had been fully booked in advance.
Ben Lee, a Macau-based managing partner at Asian gaming consultancy IGamiX, said that the final week of October indicated that the VIP and premium mass segments both benefited from strong demand. “The absence of any telegraphing of intentions to further crack down on gaming has probably alleviated the anxiety of Chinese VIPs in relation to gaming activities,” he added, as Bloomberg cited.
On the other hand, operators like SJM Holdings saw their revenue decrease after the typhoon hato that hit the city: as reported by its third quarter statement, the company suffered a 16.5 percent decrease in profits during the last three months, noting an alleged result below international and regional gaming market expectations.
