Macau decline stretches to 26 months

hly gross revenue from games of fortune in Macau has fallen for the 26th straight month, contracting by 4.5% year-on-year in July to 17.8bn patacas.

The rate of decline has continued to decelerate, however, with a steeper decline of 8.5% recorded in June, according to data released by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

A special administrative region of China, the peninsula is the only location on the Chinese mainland where casino gambling is legal, and its struggles in the wake of President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption crackdown are well documented.

However, better fortunes could be on the horizon, with Wynn Macau’s Wynn Palace and Sands China’s Parisian casino set to open in August and September respectively.

Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui was optimistic is his assessment of what the future holds for Macau.

In a televised session of the city’s legislature last Wednesday, which was quoted by Bloomberg, Chui said: “Macau’s gaming industry and the whole economy will continue to adjust, but the decline may shrink to 7.2% this year and even resume growth in 2017.

“It’s a good time for Macau to re-position after a 25-month gaming revenue drop.”

Bloomberg also quoted Grant Govertsen, Head of Asia Equity Research at Union Gaming as saying that gaming revenue growth will “finally turn positive by September.

“We expect the growth rate to generally remain positive from that point forward after September.”