Casino on track for worst year on record, with November revenues plunging 56% y-o-y

Casino revenues in November plunged 56% from the previous year to MOP3 billion patacas, another figure that is set to likely put Macau on its worst year for gaming amid tight Covid policies.

Last month’s revenue fell by 23.1% month-on-month from MOP3.90 billion.

Data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau shows until November, revenues stood at only MOP38.7 billion – far below than the government’s optimistic expectation of MOP130 billion.

The current figure is also far lower than the MOP270 billion in revenue that the city recorded pre-pandemic.

With the gaming overhaul, the crackdown on junkets and Covid restrictions that keep gamblers away, it remains unclear whether Macau’s golden days will ever return despite the billions pledged by incumbent operators.

Visitor arrivals in Macau fell short of the high expectations of the tourism industry, despite the eagerly awaited return of the Macau Grand Prix.

Last week, tourism industry insiders stated that daily average visitors so far this month amounted to roughly 16,000, a figure that is below the same period last year.

Meanwhile, analysts have formerly forecasted that November revenue would drop 47% from a year earlier to MOP3.6 billion patacas.

Casinos have been fast losing cash, even recording the worst ever gross gaming revenue figure in July, tumbling 95% year-on-year due to the city’s worst Covid-19 outbreak in mid-June.

With no certainty, gaming concessionaires are betting on Macau’s future, pledging some MOP100 billion in investments.

In the city’s biggest overhaul of the gaming law, the government is requiring bidders to submit proposals on future work in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order for them to be awarded a license.

Macau chief executive Ho Iat-Seng has set a limit of 6,000 gaming tables and 12,000 machines per operator as part of the major reforms coming into effect on January 1.