Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) from local casinos dropped by 2.3% in June when compared with the previous month, official figures released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) show.
According to the release, gaming activities in Macau over the last month generated a total of MOP15.207 billion, some MOP358 million less than in May, which reached, so far, the highest monthly GGR of this year, with MOP15.565 billion.
Still, although there was a drop registered, June was the second-best month of this year, with Macau registering successive increases in GGR since January and until May.
The June result contributes to an accumulated MOP80.136 billion GGR in the first half of this year, a figure that opens the door to a final result of GGR in 2023 that is, on average, far higher than that initially forecasted by the government (MOP130 billion for the full year).
In May, already several financial institutions and analysts have noted the forecast of MOP130 billion is very conservative, noting a “faster than expected” recovery from the local gaming industry post-pandemic.
At that time, the Deutsche Bank forecasted that Macau GGR would potentially hit somewhere close to MOP177.17 billion, which is around 36.3% higher than the government forecast.
In the same forecast done by analyst Carlo Santarelli, Macau would potentially accumulate some MOP46.41 billion in the second quarter (Q2) of the year.
In reality, the figure now disclosed by DICJ shows that in Q2 GGR reached some MOP45.49 billion, that is, almost MOP1 billion short of the Deutsche Bank forecast.
Another financial services firm – JP Morgan Chase & Co – said last week they were expecting a “flat” result for June, that is, without major increases or decreases, considering such a result as “positive,” as traditionally the GGR results from May to June have already recorded drops.
Still, it is to be taken into account that June this year also included a long holiday period due to the June 22 (Tung Ng Festival) public holiday falling on a Thursday, which resulted, in most cases, in an extension of the weekend on the mainland.
When compared with 2019 (pre-pandemic) the result of the first half of 2023 is still some 46.4% lower than in pre-pandemic times, when the first months of the year had accumulated MOP149.503 billion.
