(Bloomberg) -- Macau gaming revenue dropped for the sixth straight month in March as casinos were slammed again by quarantines and border restrictions in China that kept gamblers away during the coronavirus pandemic.

• Gross gaming revenue was 5.26 billion patacas ($658.7 million) in March, down almost 80% from a year earlier, according to data from the Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau. That was in line with the median analyst estimate of a 79.5% fall, following the 88% decline in February.

Key Insights

• The slump underscores the long road ahead for casino operators as they try to recover and reopen after the 15-day shutdown in February to curb the contagion. The shutdown came after the world’s biggest gambling hub had already been battered by months of Hong Kong protests and a two-year-long trade war.
• While 80% of the gaming tables had reopened by mid-March, there were few visitors as China -- largest source of VIP and mass gamblers for Macau -- continued its freeze on individual and group visas as part of virus-containment measures.
• The slow recovery was hobbled by a 14-day quarantine rule started by China’s Guangdong province in late-March, which JP Morgan said in a March 27 note was “effectively same as casino shut-down’ for Macau. With few flights in, almost every visitor was entering Macau through the land border in Guangdong.
• The enclave’s government halved its 2020 gross gaming revenue forecast to 130 billion patacas in March before the new quarantine rule was announced which has considerably worsened the short-term outlook for casinos.

Market Performance

• The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Macau operators fell 24% in March as the infection spread rapidly across the world. That compared to a 10% decline in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Get More

• Click here for analysts’ survey on Macau gaming
• March 30, Macau Casinos Drop as MS Trims Targets on Extended Sales Slump
• March 30, Casinos on Ratings Watch Face Downgrades on Covid-19 Disruption

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