(Bloomberg) -- Macau’s gaming revenue jumped 6.6% in October, rising to a new high since Covid shut down travel as China’s national Golden Week holiday fueled tourism and spending.
Gross gaming revenue reached 20.8 billion patacas ($2.6 billion) for the month, according to data released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau on Friday. The result was in line with the median analyst estimate of a 6% year-on-year increase.
The tally is a 20% increase from the previous month but remains 21% below the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
Key Insights
- Macau saw a surge in visitors during China’s seven-day holiday at the beginning of the month, with average daily tourist arrivals exceeding pre-Covid levels in 2019, reaching almost 142,000. Most of Macau’s visitors came from the mainland.
- The casino hub reported 2.5 million visitor arrivals in September, about 91% of the pre-pandemic level. The city will release data for October later this month.
- Gaming revenue was further boosted by concerts of Hong Kong and Korean pop stars in the final week of October.
- Macau is facing longer-term regulatory headwinds, as China seeks to crack down on capital outflow and money laundering. In October, Macau’s legislature passed a gambling crimes bill which criminalized unlicensed money exchanges — a widespread practice around casinos.
- Macau in October elected former judge Sam Hou Fai as its new leader. Sam had previously warned against the gambling industry’s outsize influence, adding to signs of a toughening approach for the city to diversify away from casinos.
Market Performance
- The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Macau casino operators fell 11.4% in October, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 3.9%.
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