Casinos generated MOP22.6 billion (USD2.8 billion) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) last month.
This is the second time since the pandemic that records have hit a high, following the highest level in October 2025, which stood at MOP24.09 billion.
The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported the figure yesterday, with the January total marking a 24% year-over-year increase from January 2025 and an 8.1% rise from December’s MOP20.9 billion.
Initially, banking institution JPMorgan had projected at least 15% year-over-year growth for January, possibly up to 20%, due to easy comparisons.
“All-in, we are still comfortable modeling January GGR (2026) to grow at least 15% year-over-year (and possibly as much as 20%) thanks to easy comps,” JPMorgan analysts noted in an earlier report.
JPMorgan estimated MOP8.05 billion for the year’s first 11 days, about MOP731 million daily. Then, in a memo published on January 26, the bank said Macau GGR had been “steady and solid” for the first 25 days of the month, at an average of MOP712 million per day.
Meanwhile, Citibank analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau linked January’s surge to affluent mainland Chinese visitors. Their survey highlighted promotions around Blackpink, Raymond Lam, and Dylan Wang concerts. “We think it’s safe to say that Macau does have gaming and non-gaming product offerings that appeal to affluent mainland Chinese consumers, who remain willing to spend,” the analysts noted last month.
In 2025, full-year GGR hit MOP247.4 billion. This figure topped 2024’s total of MOP226.8 billion by 9.1%, beating JPMorgan’s initial 5% growth estimate for the year made in January 2025. Analysts had held that baseline despite a softer December 2024.
For 2026, per the 2026 fiscal budget plan, the local government forecasts MOP236 billion in GGR. Shortly after its release, Anton Tai, Secretary for Economy and Finance, cited Macau’s vulnerability to swings in international economies, while telling the Legislative Assembly (AL) that the figure remains “prudent.” “Our forecast is based on evaluation of the results of the last two years,” Tai affirmed at the AL session last November.
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