The figure was released by the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).

The total is also a 32% increase from August 2021, when GGR totalled MOP$4.44bn. It is, however, the second-lowest total of 2021, above only August’s total. Both months have been particularly low due to issues with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

August saw a Covid alert lead to a sharp dip in tourism, while mainland tourist visits to Macau in September dropped after neighbouring Zhuhai in Guangdong province introduced a 14-day quarantine for inbound travel from the region.

GGR for the third quarter of 2021 reached MOP$18.76bn, a 26% decline from the second quarter of 2021, when GGR was MOP$25.39bn.

And GGR for the year to 30 September now stands at MOP$67.79bn, up 76% from the same period in 2020, when GGR totalled MOP$38.61bn.

May’s total of MOP$10.45bn stands as the strongest month of 2021 in terms of GGR. 

Despite the year-on-year and month-on-month increases, GGR remains significantly impacted by Covid-19 struggles, which look set to cause further problems during Golden Week, which this year runs from 1-7 October.