Casino revenue may fall to lowest level in 5 years

Macau’s gaming revenue could drop to about 16 billion patacas (USD2 billion) in June, a government official said, marking the lowest in five years.
The Macau government may need to control its internal expenditure if the average casino revenue of the first six months of 2015 falls below 20 billion patacas, according to the Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong.
The average revenue in the first five months was 20.9 billion patacas, according to Bloomberg calculations. Casino revenue in June is typically weaker than in May, and some government departments have already started cost-saving measures, Leong told media. Nevertheless, he noted that cutbacks wouldn’t be made to areas relating to social welfare such as education, healthcare, public works, salaries of public servants, and the annual cash handout to residents.
The June slump would add to Macau casinos’ yearlong losing streak, which caused the city’s first-half economic output to tumble 24.5 percent. Several analysts slashed gaming revenue forecasts in the world’s largest gambling hub, citing figures in the first week of June that were poorer than they thought. MDT/Bloomberg