Macau gaming could start slow due to pneumonia

A pneumonia outbreak has hit Wuhan, in central China, which has the Macau gaming industry on alert of a potentially slow start.

Macau.- The Chinese territory of Macau had a tough 2019 and may start slow in 2020 as well. According to the authorities, a viral pneumonia outbreak could endanger the city, even though its hundreds of kilometres away.

The outbreak was reported in the metropolis of Wuhan, in central mainland China. However, Macau has direct air services, which may hurt the gaming industry over the serious threat of an epidemic.

Worst of all, the World Health Organisation has yet to identify the causal agent for the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak.

“No evidence of significant human-to-human transmission and no health care worker infections have been reported,” the WHO stated anyway.

The Macau Health Bureau has asked casinos to install body temperature-screening equipment at their facilities. However, there’s no further news on which venues have complied with the request to prevent the outbreak from further expanding.

Macau gaming in 2019

It seems 2019 wasn’t the best year for the largest Asian gaming hub. According to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Macau GGR dropped 3.4% last year.

The body showed the full-year GGR in the territory reached €32.7 billion, less than 2018’s figures. The result follows a major 13.7% year-on-year drop last December. It was attributed to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit. 

Fitch Ratings’ assessment

Fitch Ratings has changed its rating for Macau and downgraded it from “Stable” to “Negative”. The agency said that the downgrade is due an increased exposure to mainland China.