Macau decline set to continue

ysts are predicting Macau casinos could suffer a revenue drop of as much as 22% in November.

Macau is the only place in China where land-based gambling is legal, but has suffered a consistent drop in revenue over the last five months, and UBS predicts the year-on-year revenue fall for this month could be between 17% and 22%.

The city recently posted its worst ever recorded revenue, following a 23% decrease in revenue in October, beating the previous record downswing of 17.1% in January 2009.

A number of factors have contributed to the downturn, such as a lack of tourism after China began restricting access to people from Hong Kong following pro-democracy protests in the south coast region.

A 17% decrease in VIP gambler revenue to 56%, another record low, has also led to the decline, as well as the Macau government restricting the number of days that tourists are allowed to stay in the city.

Macau is now in danger of posting negative full-year revenue growth.