GGR from mass-market increases in Macau

The DICJ has revealed that gross gambling revenue from the mass market in Macau increased in the third quarter.

Macau.- The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has released its latest financial report, in which it says that gross gambling revenue (GGR) from the mass market increased 18% in the three-month period ended September 30.

The DICJ said that a slowdown in the Chinese economy made VIP play decrease 22.5%, and revenue totalled €3.4 billion. The total figure from GGR in the third quarter was €7.9 billion, which is €335 million less than what Macau had registered during the same period in 2018.

During the three-month period, the total number of gaming tables featured in Macau was around 6,700, while slot machines’ number rose to 17k approximately.

Casino revenue likely to decline in Q4 in Macau

The downward revenue trend in Macau is expected to continue throughout the rest of the year. Morgan Stanley said in a memo that casino GGR is likely to be down every month of Q4 in Macau.

Analysts Praven Choudhary, Thomas Allen and Gareth Leung said that October GGR would be 6% down year-on-year. November and December would both register a 9% decline year-on-year, ending Q4 on a bad note.

“We expect Q4 revenue growth for both mass and VIP to decelerate compared to the first nine months in Macau. Driven by high [2018] base, lower [tally of] overnight visitors and general economic slowdown,” said the analysts.

Moreover, the Morgan Stanley analysts said that they expect third-quarter property EBITDA to be down 1%. “Also weaker than seasonality of an 8% increase quarter-on-quarter,” they said.