Gaming | Gov’t collects circa 25% of gaming tax revenue goal

The Macau government has collected MOP3.2 million in tax gaming revenue from the gaming industry, bringing the total revenue to MOP12.3 billion for the first four months of this year.
This tally is MOP8.1 billion less compared to the same period last year, or circa 25% of the MOP50 billion that the government is anticipating collecting throughout the whole year of 2021, as announced in the current budget plan in the fiscal year.
In the government’s current budget plan for the fiscal year, it states its aim to gather some MOP50 billion from gaming revenue, which means that the city should acquire a total of nearly MOP4.2 billion in taxes per month.
In this year’s budget bill, authorities anticipated that the gaming sector would rake in an annual gross gaming revenue (GGR) of MOP130 billion.
From January to April, the city’s GGR tallied to MOP42.4 billion, recording a 28.7% year-on-year increase.
The severe downturn in GGR last year was due to the closure of borders, the halt of tourists from the mainland (except for those under the Individual Visit Scheme [IVS]), and the 15-day closure of casinos in February to deter the spread of the Covid-19.
Macau’s government received around MOP29.8 billion from gaming tax in 2020, a drop of 73.6% year-on-year.
The actual receipts generated from the city’s casino industry in the full year of 2020 fared modestly better than the government’s previous forecast of MOP29.46 billion announced in December 2020. This was the second amendment to — as well as a 42.2% decline from — the original forecast of MOP45.5 billion anticipated by the government in April last year.
The SAR government taxes casinos in Macau for 39% of gaming revenue — which includes a direct tax of 35% and other types of taxes for social and welfare purposes.