Gaming revenue growth better than expected in March

The gaming revenue in March has posted a 22 percent year-on-year gain, according to figures issued by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. Revenue rose by 22.2 percent to MOP25.950 billion, a figure that far surpasses analysts’ expectations, which ranged between 13 and 18 percent.

Similarly, the accumulated gross revenue for the first three months of 2018 year-on-year registered a growth of 20.5 percent to MOP76.5 billion.

On the results, Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen said, “Even though Chinese New Year was in mid-February this year, the traditional post-CNY slowdown felt notably longer than usual this year and seemingly extended into first two weeks of March.”

Govertsen added that there was some level of concern that Macau’s casinos would experience a slowdown in March due to the National People’s Congress (NPC).

“We therefore think Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) sharply accelerated after the meetings were concluded, leading to a very strong last week of March,” he told website CalvinAyre.com.
According to Govertsen, it was the VIP segment that led to the revenue spike in the second half of March. He added that he expects the positive momentum of Macau casinos to continue into April.
Commenting on the year’s accumulated results, the Union Gaming analyst also expects that they are “likely to maintain a 20 percent and above GGR average” in the second quarter of 2018, with the VIP segment expected to remain the key driver of performance.

With last month’s results, March has become the 20th consecutive month in which the gaming industry has reported gains, cementing the recovery after revenues plunged to five-year lows due to slowing economic growth and a widespread crackdown on corruption starting in 2014.

Still, despite the consistent gains reported, the current figures are still far from the peak levels, hovering around the monthly revenues seen in 2012. RM