Macau's Decline Reaches One-Year MarkFor 12 Straight Months Gaming Win Has Declined Year-Over-Year |
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Gambling revenue in Macau was $2.5 billion in May, down from the $4 billion from one year ago, according to figures released this week by the local government.
The 37-percent decline marks 12 consecutive months that gaming win has fallen year-over-year in the former Portuguese colony, the only place in China where gambling is legal.
Macau’s gambling market contraction comes at a time when the casino industry is investing more than $20 billion in new projects there, according to the Wall Street Journal.
One of the projects is Wynn Resorts’s $4.1 billion Wynn Palace. It is scheduled to open in March 2016. Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts are also building new casinos there.
The city currently has more than 30 casinos.
The reason why Macau’s gaming win has tumbled is because of increased scrutiny from mainland China on largely unregulated junket operators who have helped provide high rollers with the money needed to gamble for big money while in Macau.
Baccarat has historically driven 91 percent of Macau’s gambling dollars.
It’s unclear when the issue with junkets and the Chinese government will be resolved.
Macau ended 2014 with seven straight months of year-over-year gaming revenue decline, bringing 2014’s total win to $44.1 billion, a 2.6-percent drop compared to 2013’s record shattering year.
Not long ago, the WSJ reported that at least one analyst predicted that Macau gambling revenue would grow by 20 percent in 2014, while another said that in 2017 it would hit $77 billion in market size. Macau’s reversal was sudden and unexpected by at least some.
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