Total expenditure, meanwhile, amounted to 149.89bn yuan, due to a rise in purchases, commissions and customer rebates.

Operating and non-operating costs both also saw an increase, while the total fixed capital formation of the industry decreased significantly by 87% to 950m yuan.

Nevertheless, the overall impact of Macau’s gambling industry increased, providing an 18% year-on-year rise in the total value added of its contribution to the economy (179.07bn yuan).

Macau's casinos generated casino gaming revenue of 265.74bn yuan last year, up 19% from 2016.