Gaming | Casino revenue records steep drop of 47% in August

The Macau SAR’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) plummeted to MOP4.44 billion in August, a drop of 47.4% from last month’s figures, according to data provided by the casino regulator.
In July, the city reported an aggregate MOP8.44 billion in GGR, an increase of 29.2% from the previous month.
The steep drop this month can be attributed to the Delta cases discovered in early August which led to strict immigration measures.
Since then, Macau has seen a downturn in mainland visitors, as Zhuhai reduced the validity period for nucleic acid tests from 24 hours to 12 hours.
It was only in late August that the city’s tourism arrivals gained momentum as the government eased entry measures for visitors from the mainland: the city’s biggest market.
In early August, Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd reported that casino revenues in the first week of the month have reverted to the levels of September last year.
Analysts at the firm reported that the average GGR dropped as much as 48% for the first week of August compared to the previous week. The weekly total of 125 million patacas is “the lowest daily GGR since late September [last year],” according to the statement.
Still, the report notes that August figures are expected to show a 30% drop compared to July and a 70% drop compared year-on-year to 2019.
JP Morgan forecasted in July that the GGR may reach a post-pandemic high in August, expecting a full recovery in the mass sector to be achieved within about a year, by the third quarter of 2022.
Even casino executives previously expressed high hopes that the summer holidays would see an increase in foot traffic in the city, citing the stabilization of the Covid-19 situation in Guangdong, as well as improved conditions in Hong Kong.