GGR rises 19% m-o-m in July; 6.5% up y-o-y

Data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) revealed that local casinos generated approximately MOP22.13 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in July, the highest monthly figure of this year.

The figure represented a 19% month-on-month (m-o-m) surge, repeating the surge seen in June this year.

The almost 20% hike registered in two consecutive months took the accumulated GGR to close to MOP141 billion, beating the revised estimates.

Year-on-year (y-o-y), the accumulated GGR post shows an increase of 6.5% from the MOP132.35 billion registered at the end of July last year.

The result also places the average monthly GGR over MOP20 billion bar for the first time this year, the original estimate from the previous government led by Ho Iat Seng at the end of 2024, which forecasted the industry to be generating a revenue of MOP240 billion this year.

Sam Hou Fai’s government recently lowered the initial bar set by the predecessors, reducing this forecast to just MOP228 billion (MOP19 billion on a month-average basis) due to a slower-than-expected start to the year.

July is now regarded as the best month of the year, followed by May (MOP21.19 billion), which was almost one billion lower.

In the gaming industry’s results from last month, it is also worth noting that it was the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that local casinos posted such a high single-month result. The highest result obtained before July 2025 was in January 2020 (just before the pandemic), when a GGR of MOP22.13 billion was reached. Revenue levels have now recovered to 90% of their pre-pandemic peak in 2019.

The recent and sudden recovery of the gaming industry right after the delivery of the first Policy Address from Sam’s government was also noticed by several market analysts who have also been raising their prospects for this year.

Last week, Seaport Research Partners revised its 2025 Macau GGR forecast upwards, predicting a 7% year-over-year growth and a potential 9% surge in the year’s second half.

This optimistic outlook is based on a reacceleration of casino earnings in May and June and the forecast for July results.

In the longer run, Seaport forecasts a 7% annual GGR growth for 2026 and 2027.

In their initial forecast, they had previously cut their 2025 growth forecast from 6.5% to 3% due to a weak first quarter.

Analysts at CBRE Equity Research also announced late last week that they would continue to have a confident and optimistic outlook for Macau’s gaming sector due to the reacceleration in GGR.

JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) is also optimistic, with analysts expressing their expectations for good results for the rest of the summer.

In July, the Bloomberg Intelligence index tracking Macau’s casino operators climbed 21%, outperforming the broader Hang Seng Index, which gained just 3%.