Macau Daily August GGR Outpaces July’s Performance: JP Morgan Report

Macau sees increased demand from mass market segments during summer holidays

Macau’s casino industry continues to show signs of recovery as gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first 11 days of August is estimated to have reached approximately MOP7.1 billion (US$884.4 million). GGRAsia reports that this data is based on a memo from JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd.

This represents a daily run rate of about MOP645 million, with an improvement to MOP657 million per day in the latter part of the week—a significant increase from the MOP590 million to MOP600 million daily rates observed in June and July.

JP Morgan analysts DS Kim, Mufan Shi, and Selina Li noted that the surge in revenue reflects strong demand from mass market segments during the summer holidays. They estimated that mass GGR has now reached around 110% of pre-COVID levels, while VIP gaming remains relatively subdued, hovering in the low to mid-20% range of pre-pandemic activity.

Despite these positive trends, JP Morgan has maintained its August GGR forecast for Macau at MOP19 billion to MOP19.5 billion, or MOP610 million to MOP630 million per day. The analysts suggested that this projection could prove to be conservative if the current pace of revenue generation continues through the end of the month.

In July, Macau’s total casino GGR was reported at just under MOP18.60 billion, a 5.1% increase from the previous month. However, this figure was seen as underwhelming by some market analysts, who noted that the daily run-rate had slowed towards the end of the month. Nonetheless, the current momentum in August offers a more optimistic outlook for the city’s gaming industry as it continues to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read related article: Analysts Label Macau’s July GGR “Weak,” Predict August Recovery