Publishing Macau casino revenues for October, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau for the Chinese Special Administrative Region reported monthly gross gaming revenue of MOP27.33bn (€2.97bn) – the highest since the MOP28bn (€3.04bn) posted in October, 2014.
The total to date in 2018 is MOP251bn (€27.3bn) up 14.3 per cent on the same period in 2017 and the highest YTD figures since 2014, at which point in that year revenues had passed MOP303bn.
October is traditionally a strong month yet Macau’s casinos still posted a healthy 2.6 per cent increase on the MOP26.6bn (€2.89bn) recorded in October, 2017.
The full YTD run down of revenues is shown below.
The October revenues extended Macau’s streak of consecutive year-on-year rises to 27, although the increase was in line with analysts’ expectations.
There is a hope among the Macau casinos that the new $20bn 34-mile long bridge from Hong Kong to the region – the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge – will boost both footfall and revenue. The bridge opened last week so any effect will not be reflected in the numbers until November, at the earliest.
It is also anticipated that the bridge will ease Macau’s reliance on the VIP market, on which the region had so heavily depended in the past. It was VIP visitation that was hit hardest following a Macau clampdown in 2014, led by president of China, Xi Jinping.
The region is also affected by China’s wider economic woes, with growth slowing in Q3. As with China, Macau will likely be the beneficiary of the country’s surging middle classes, which continue to grow in both affluence and influence.
However, the recent good news continued last week with confirmation that Las Vegas Sands will boost its investment in Macau, having reported “continued growth in every [LVS] market segment in Macau”.
