As of 1 October, as China celebrates its Golden Week national holiday, Macau saw something it hadn’t seen in months – significant footfall.
Since the June lockdown, which once again saw Macau become a deserted ghost town for international gamblers, Macau has seriously struggled to recapture the footfall it had before the Covid outbreak.
According to the latest figures, on Saturday, Macau saw over 37,000 people arrive in the province – while the first three days of the month saw more than 91,000 travel to the Chinese gambling hub, up 1.5% from last year.
Much of the traffic was from the Chinese mainland, which accounted for 90% of the people – totalling around 82,000.
South Korean casinos continue to bounce back
The two foreigner-only casinos in South Korea have shown further growth compared to the same period in 2021 – according to new figures.
Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) reported a 169% annual rise in revenue, posting a September total of KRW25.4bn (US$17.9 m). Furthermore, GKL’s figures show that it is 160% up for the first nine months of 2022, making KRW171.6bn in that period.
Meanwhile, Paradise Co showed it has lost money compared to August; however, its total of KRW39.2bn still represents a 313% increase on September 2021. In more good news for Paradise Co, the first nine months of 2022 have proven healthy, with the casino posting KRW217.5bn in revenue – 5% up from last year.
Ozzie sports teams extend refusal of sports betting advertising
Several Australian sporting teams have extended their contracts with the New South Government’s Reclaim the Game promotion.
Cricket NSW, along with A-League football clubs Western Sydney Wanderers FC and Macarthur FC, have signed two-year extensions of the original agreement to not show sports betting advertisements at home games.
Cricket NSW CEO Lee Germon said of the extension: “Since joining forces with the Office of Responsible Gambling, Cricket NSW has made a meaningful contribution towards changing the community’s attitudes towards betting on sport.”
Meanwhile, Western Sydney Wanderers CEO Scott Hudson, added: “It is important for us to have an impact beyond the field, and together, with Reclaim the Game, we have brought awareness of the impact that sports betting can have in professional sport.”
Deutsche Bank gives thumbs down to Macau’s Q4 but expects bleeding to slow
Deutsche Bank’s analyst Carlo Santarelli has said he believes that Macau’s recent woes will continue during Q4 2022, announcing that gross gaming revenue will fall to around MOP14.6bn ($1.8bn) – representing a 25% drop from 2021.
However, this is less than the haemorrhaging seen in recent months following the June lockdown, which saw Macau’s Q3 report show a 70% drop on 2021.
Part of the decline has been driven by a huge 40% annual fall in VIP gaming, according to Santarelli, a sector that Macau has struggled to win back following the covid-19 pandemic – which will be explored in the up-and-coming Nov/Dec edition of Gambling Insider.
