Macau gaming tax take climbs to US$113 million in September

October 20, 2022 Macau Earnings & Filings Industry Updates

The amount of tax revenue collected by the Macau SAR Government from the city’s six casino concessionaires reached MOP$915.8 million (US$113.2 million) in September, 275% higher than the MOP$244.4 million (US$30.2 million) collected in August but 48.2% lower than the same time last year.

The year-on-year decline continues a run of poor results for both Macau’s gaming operators and the government, with border restrictions and COVID-19 outbreaks across mainland China limiting travel.

The September figure also correlates to Macau’s August GGR figure of MOP$2.19 billion (US$271 million) – an improvement on the record low of MOP$398 million (US$49 million) recorded in July but 50.7% lower than August 2021.

For the first nine months of 2022 combined direct gaming taxes have reached MOP$15.1 billion (US$1.87 billion) – down from MOP$27.2 billion (US$3.37 billion) a year earlier and representing just 44.0% of the MOP$34.4 billion (US$4.26 billion) the government had budgeted for through September. It is also just 30.3% of the FY22 tax budget of MOP$49.8 billion (US$6.16 billion), according to information from the Financial Services Bureau.

Macau’s gaming taxes include a 35% “special gaming tax” paid directly to the Macau government plus another 4% other charges, comprising a 1.6% levy which funds the Macao Foundation’s cultural, social, economic, educational, scientific, academic and philanthropic activities, and a 2.4% contribution (1.4% for SJM) to the urban construction, tourism and social security fund.