Macau experiences third year in a row fall
Gambling revenue in Macau fell for a third year in a row in 2016.
Macau.- Officials say that an anti-corruption campaign along with a slowing economic growth contributed to a third year in a row fall in gambling revenues in Macau, the world’s greatest casino hub.
According to government data released this week, in 2016 gambling revenue fell 3.3 percent to US$28 billion. Despite the year-on-year decrease, December revenue grew 8 percent compared to the same period in 2015 to US$2.4 billion. The third quarter of 2016 was influenced by new casino resorts that helped attract mass gamblers and boost VIP spenders. Xi Jinping, China’s President, had rolled out his campaign against corruption at the beginning of 2014.
A Fitch statement released in December said: “Macau gaming, now firmly at the bottom of the cycle, has better long-term prospects given investments in new supply, improvements in mass market indicators and under-penetration of gaming throughout the rest of Asia.” Yesterday, the Financial Services Bureau of Macau announced that they collected US$9.1 billion from gambling taxes during the first eleven months of 2016. The numbers accounted 77.8 percent of all local government revenues.
