Macau, one of the only legal places to gamble in the China region, saw an uplift in revenue in the last week as VIP spending and gross gaming revenue (GGR) saw a jump.
As such, reports now show that Macau’s forecast for earnings has shot up to 21.25 billion Macanese Patacas (MOP) ($2.64 billion) for the whole of May. This is from an estimated 21 billion MOP.
The news comes from Citigroup, a financial and investment bank service, that produces analysis for Macau’s revenue. According to its sources, the jump in spending ties in with the opening of a new casino, Capella at Galaxy Macau. From the report:
“The spike in last week’s gross gaming revenue was a pleasant surprise. We suspect this was due to the newly opened Capella at Galaxy Macau.”
Macau benefits from China’s Golden Week
Macau’s GGR growth this month is a 5% increase over last year, and with a few days left of May post-report, it’s estimated to grow further by MOP625 million ($77.7 million). However, it’s not solely down to one casino opening, as China’s Labor Day Golden Week will have played a huge part.
Macau saw a massive 850,000 tourists flood the region over the five days, a huge jump over the previous year by 40.7%. Numbers haven’t been this high since 2019, pre-COVID pandemic.
Interestingly, VIP spending was a huge deal in May, with estimates putting it at 25 to 30 percent growth versus last month. Other estimates put these VIP win rates at 3.5% to 3.7%.
Macau has recently begun to crack down on illegal money exchanges, influenced by the gambling nature of the area. To avoid official channels for various purposes (tax dodging and the like), Chinese mainlanders will exchange money with individuals. The special administrative region has also recently appointed its first woman as director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
