September’s total is, however, a 36% month-on-month rise from August 2022. The figure, from Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), comes amid relatively restrictive immigration procedures between Macau and mainland China.

Moreover, the city has not opened quarantine-free entry for foreign visitors, with the daily number of visitors remaining around 20,000 in September, a huge decline from the average of 108,000 per day witnessed in 2019.

GGR for the first nine months of 2022 now stands at MOP$31.81bn, a 53% decline from the first nine months of 2021, when GGR amounted to MOP$67.78bn.

February’s figure of MOP$7.75bn remains the highest total of 2022 so far, as well as representing the only month in which GGR grew year-on-year. January’s MOP$6.34bn is second, followed by March’s MOP$3.67bn and May’s MOP$3.34bn.

Last month, Macau GGR amounted to MOP$2.18bn, which is the second-lowest total of the year so far after July’s MOP$398m.

Positive news for the city did, however, arrive late last month when Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng announced that electronic visas (eVisas) and package tours will be reinstated in November following discussions with China’s central government. Such offers have been suspended since January 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following this, Deputy Director of Macau’s Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Cheng Wai Tong said between 20,000 and 25,000 visitors per day can be expected to arrive during Golden Week, which began on 1 October and lasts until 7 October.