The announcement marked the first time casinos had been shut for over two years. Authorities then extended the closures by five days, with casinos now expected to reopen their doors on 23 July.
Casino guest numbers had already seen a drop before the closures, due in part to an increase in travel and border restrictions. The number of visitors to Macau stood at 600,748 in May, with this number dropping to 380,671 by June.
Speaking to the Macau Daily Times, gaming industry expert Ben Lee predicated that July will see its worst monthly GGR to date, with figures directly attributable to the Covid-related closures.
This will represent a stark contrast to GGR in July 2021, which stood at MOP$8.44bn (US$1.045bn) making it the second-best month of 2021 after May’s total of MOP$10.45bn.
Lee, Managing Partner of IGamiX Management & Consulting, projected a July GGR of between MOP$200m to MOP$300m. If this prediction is accurate, it would represent a fall of 90% when compared to June 2022, despite that being the lowest monthly GGR of the year with a total of MOP$2.48bn.
The region’s Covid-19 outbreak looks set to continue, casting doubt over the near-term health of the gaming industry, with Lee going on to claim “August GGR is unpredictable and impossible to forecast.”