Gaming | January GGR drops 20.3% to MOP6.3b

Cards sit on a blackjack table during the Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E Asia) in Macau, China, on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. The expo runs through May 23. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg

The city’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in January dropped 20.3% month-to-month to MOP6.34 billion, data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau shows.

Official data reports December closed with a GGR MOP7.96 billion, which led to a total gaming revenue of MOP86.86 billion last year.

January saw a series of new outbreaks in the neighbouring region, causing local authorities to impose strict border entry measures to deter the spread of Covid-19 variants.

The SAR government shortened the validity of the negative nucleic acid test (NAT) result for those entering Macau from Zhuhai in the wake of the new cases, discouraging tourists to travel to Macau.

Brokerage JP Morgan has previously reiterated that the degree of recovery of the GGR from casinos is dependent on the “pace and level of travel normalization around the region.”

Previously, the brokerage said that it will no longer forecast the city’s 2022 gaming rebound as they are less confident in their numbers than they were a year ago.

Meanwhile, junkets account for 75% of Macau’s VIP gaming revenue, equating to around USD3 billion each year.

However, the number of gambling promoter licenses in the city has decreased nearly 50% in just one year in the aftermath of the arrest of Suncity Group CEO and junket mogul, Alvin Chau.

Macau currently has only 46 junket licensees for the current year: far fewer than the approved 85 license gaming promoters.