Macau saw its gross gaming revenue (GGR) rise 31.6% month-to-month to nearly MOP3.90 billion, albeit from a low base as last month’s receipts stood at MOP2.96 billion, which was a plunge of nearly 50% year-on-year.
Data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) shows that figure dropped 10.7% when compared to last year’s MOP4.37 billion revenue.
Last year, the SAR saw a low GGR for October – typically the highest month of gaming revenues – due to the string of Covid-19 cases in the city in late September, which led to the tightening of entry and exit regulations.
This year’s October figures fell to a new low in terms of monthly revenues.
Analysts at brokerage JP Morgan estimated that the average daily GGR of casinos for the first nine days of October stood at MOP1.7 billion, which included the Golden Week holiday.
During the October 1 to 7 National Day Holiday the city recorded some 182,284 visitor arrivals.
Brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has amended its forecast for the city’s gaming sector in 2022 to just under MOP44.93 billion.
The team base this forecast on their predictions that travel restrictions between Macau and the mainland will linger until the first quarter of 2023.
This is despite group tour visas and eVisas resuming yesterday, as the spending capacity of mainland travelers under these visas is not high.
Gaming shares on the rise
Casino stocks rose sharply today on the first day of the issuance of travel visas and eVisas, with Wynn Macau climbing by 11.53%.
Gaming shares, so far, have been on the rise this week.
Sands China, Melco International Development and MGM China rose 11.53%, 11.71% and 10.60%, respectively.
This was followed by Galaxy and SJM Holdings, which respectively rose 8.79% and 7.76%.
Meanwhile, although China has loosened visa rules for the city, casino operators are slated to wait for a rebound.
Casinos have been grappling with Beijing’s zero-Covid restrictions for over two-and-a-half years as such policies requires tighter restrictions and district lockdowns when cases are detected.
However, JP Morgan predicts that easing of travel restrictions will “greatly alleviate the frictions for a Macau trip.”
