MGM China has seen net revenues rise to HK $8.8 billion (approximately $1.15 billion) in the first quarter of the year, marking a 10% rise on the same period last year.
VIP spending has fallen over the same period, however, the Japanese-language, Macao-based newspaper Macau Shimbun reported.
The group’s VIP hold rate fell by a percentage point to 2.5%. In the casino industry, hold rates refer to win percentages from high-spending VIP players. The group’s wider VIP market also fell by 5.2% in the same period.
MGM China is one of only six groups to have been granted casino management concessions from the Macao government.
The firm operates two integrated resorts in Macao, with one on the Macao Peninsula and the other in the Cotai District.
MGM Mass Gaming Revenues Hit New Record
Average daily casino revenue rose by 13%, with the mass gaming revenues (including slots) rising to 19%, marking a new record high.
Hotel occupancy rate rose slightly to 93.9%, and the company reported a “stable” financial picture.
As of March 31, 2026, the firm reported total liquidity of HK $25 billion (around $3.3 billion).
Casinos in Macao could be affected by mixed news from the tourism sector. The Macao-based media outlet TDM reported that, per Statistics and Census Service figures for Q1, the number of Mainland Chinese tour groups arriving in Macao decreased by 20% year-on-year to 385,000.
The number of international tour groups, however, increased by over 16% to reach 65,000.
Average hotel room occupancy rates rose by 2% to reach 92%. Mainland Chinese guest numbers held steady.
But the number of international guests skyrocketed, with a 60% increase from Thailand. There was also a 51% increase in guest numbers from India.
Golden Week Boost
A short-term boost is also in the cards, tourism experts said.
The same media outlet wrote, in a separate report, that the Macao Tourism Bureau expects 800,000 tourists to visit during the May Golden Week.
In China, May 1 marks Labor Day, and this year it falls on a five-day break that ends on May 5.
This coincides with Japan’s Golden Week public holiday period, which runs until May 6 this year.
The Macao Tourism Bureau Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, said the bureau expects around 160,000 visitors per day during Golden Week.
She predicted that a total of 800,000 visitors would arrive over the entire period.
Last week, she said, hotel occupancy rates were over 80%. The bureau expects these rates to reach 90% in early May.
Crime Warnings
Macao casinos saw revenues rise 4.5% in February, beating analyst expert forecasts by 3.5%, and driving gross gaming revenues above the $2.5 billion mark.
However, police in the Chinese special administrative region have complained of a rise in gambling-related crime.
In March, police arrested a Mainland Chinese man at a border checkpoint. They have accused the man of posing as a gambling guru who offered to teach his skills to a female client.
When the duo met in Macao, the self-styled guru asked the woman to borrow money. He then proceeded to lose this money in two casino sessions before fleeing to the border.
De Senna Fernandes said police have upped their surveillance of the sector as Golden Week begins.
During the holiday period, she said, officers have increased the frequency and coverage of patrols at border crossings and major tourist attractions.
As of Sunday, April 26, Macao police have conducted 523 checks at border crossings and tourist attractions in 2026.
Officers said they have arrested at least three suspected illegal tour guides. De Senna Fernandes added that police have conducted over 100 interdepartmental probes as part of a crackdown on illegal hotels.
