Gaming | GGR at MOP5.88b following late September Covid-19 cases

Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) recorded an increase of 32.4% in September, reaching MOP5.88 billion and following the steep downturn in revenues in August due to the Delta variant cases and resulting border restrictions.
September’s figure is the second-lowest GGR the city has recorded this year. August recorded the lowest figure at MOP4.44 billion, with visitors discouraged by the entry and exit measures imposed by Zhuhai authorities.
Data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau shows that gaming industry revenue in September rose 165.9% year-on-year.
Accumulated revenue in the first nine months of this year reached MOP67.79 billion, up 75.6% year-on-year.
The SAR was hit by a new outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic near the end of September.
In response to the outbreak, neighboring Guangdong province on the Chinese mainland required those entering from Macau to quarantine for 14 days.
The entry measure was initially set to be lifted at noon on October 4, however the detection of another Covid-19 case in the SAR saw neighboring authorities withdraw their decision to provide quarantine-free entry to local residents.
They formerly announced that residents will be able to enter Zhuhai from Monday via Macau checkpoints if they have a negative nucleic acid test valid for 48 hours and proof of Covid-19 vaccination.
Last Wednesday, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng announced at an impromptu press conference that if no new Covid-19 cases were detected by September 30, the quarantine-upon-arrival measures for entrants to Zhuhai from Macau would “likely be lifted.”
However, Macau recorded five new cases over the past two days.
The current outbreak is expected to exacerbate the city’s fall in GGR, missing the government’s initial gaming revenue forecast.
The MOP130 billion revenue forecast is currently being revised since the government had noted that it may not reach this figure due to the recent downturn.
To reach the goal of MOP130 billion, the city’s casinos would need to bring in MOP81 billion in revenue in the second half of the year.