New Year revelers bring cheer to Macau casinos

March 2, 2022 Macau Earnings & Filings Industry Updates

Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue grew 6.1 percent year-on-year to 7.76 billion patacas (HK$7.54 billion) in February as tourists flocked to the city during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The revenue was also a 22.3 percent rise from January, according to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

The cumulative gambling revenue in the first two months of the year, however, fell 8 percent to 14.10 billion patacas compared to the same period last year.

Macau saw a jump in visitors during the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday that occurred in late January and early February, with arrivals up 25 per cent from a year earlier to almost 114,000. Still, that’s 91 percent below pre-pandemic levels.

While tourism has slowly picked up, the enclave continues to face headwinds.

J P Morgan Chase had said in February that local media had reported some mainland cities had tightened visa approvals for residents seeking to visit Macau, and in the same month, China’s Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi had urged a further crackdown on cross-border gambling, raising concerns over the potential impact on high-rolling bettors in Macau’s US$3.5 billion (HK$27.3 billion) VIP sector.