Macau Casinos Endure Fifth Straight Month With Revenue Decline Of More Than 90 PercentRegion Experiences 11th Straight Month With Revenue Drop |
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The world’s largest gaming market is in the midst of one of the most extreme revenue declines ever imagined as Macau’s gross gambling revenue dropped by over 90 percent for the fifth straight month.
According to data released by the Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau, casinos in the former Portuguese colony won just $166.6 million in August.
Those figures represent a 94.5 percent drop year-over-year compared to the more than $3 billion the region won from gamblers in August 2019. It’s also the 11th straight month of gross gambling revenue decline for the region.
The market could be finding a bottom as August’s revenue is on par with July’s $168 million take. In June, casinos won a paltry $89.7 million.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the strict travel restrictions placed on the region by the Chinese government have plagued the industry since the casinos were forced closed for two weeks in February. As the country continues to slowly get the virus under control, some of the travel restrictions have been lifted, but casinos still have a grim outlook on the immediate future.
Last month, the government lifted the mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers from the neighboring Guangdong province, but according to a report from GGRAsia, the province is home to the highest percentage of non-gamblers in the entire country.
Other strict travel restrictions are still in place as the government still has the quarantine in place for Hong Kong travelers and other areas of the world that have a higher concentration of gamblers in its population.
Year-to-date, the Macau market is down more than 80 percent compared to 2019 with at least some operators in the region posting a loss. Las Vegas Sands Corp, which owns four Macau casinos, reported a nearly $1 billion loss in the second quarter.
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