Gaming | June GGR daily rate to drop 34.4% month-to-month: Bernstein

Macau’s daily gross gaming revenue (GGR) run rate is expected to display a 34.4% month-to-month slump in the first half of June, mainly dampened by the more rigorous cross-border travel requirements mandated during the recent pandemic resurgence in Guangdong Province, Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd stated in its note published June 15.
According to a report by GGR Asia, the brokerage firm stated that the daily GGR from June 1 to June 14 may reach MOP221 million on average, representing a fall of 34.4% from MOP337 million during the same period in the preceding month.
On June 8, the Macau SAR government truncated the validity period for negative SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction test results from seven to two days, for those entering Macau from Guangdong province to minimize contagion risks locally.
Although the move has been considered necessary, it has been an added impediment discouraging mainland holidaymakers from visiting Macau.
The stringent measures have led the city’s average daily visitor flow, including arrivals to and departures from Macau, to drop by 26% to just 30,000 from June 7 to 13, compared to the previous week from May 31 to June 4, the firm added.
According to the arrival statistics released by the Public Security Police Force on Wednesday at the Covid-19 briefing, Macau saw around 15,900 inbound visitors on June 15, up 57.1% from the previous day.
The cross-border travel restrictions are still largely in place, according to Bernstein, but they suggest any travel relaxation with the mainland would help both visitor arrivals and GGR pick up meaningfully again.
The brokerage concluded that Macau’s GGR is likely to remain below normal levels, should the electronic issuance of Individual Visit Scheme visas, group visas, and Hong Kong travel opening remain suspended, and more stringent Covid-19 testing requirements remain.
“We assume a GGR uplift to begin later this summer as travel impediments are removed and visitation increases,” the brokerage firm stated.