Macau Sees Little Sign of Recovery as Gaming Revenue Falls 90%

Macau gaming revenue showed little sign of improvement, notching a sixth straight month of declines of at least 90%, as a gradual relaxation of travel and visa curbs by China has so far brought few visitors.

Gross gaming revenue fell 90% to 2.21 billion patacas ($277 million) in September from a year earlier, according to data from the Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau. That was worse than the median analyst estimate for an 86% decline.

Key Insights

Macau has seen only a trickle of arrivals even though visas have been made available to residents in China’s Guangdong province - which previously accounted for a third of Macau’s visitors - since late August.

Casino floors have remained largely empty as inconvenient requirements still make it difficult to enter Macau from the mainland, such as obtaining a negative virus test. Other destinations such as Hainan are proving a draw for Chinese travelers with such perks as duty-free shopping.

Macau also faces challenges as China is tightening controls on outbound capital flow. Liquidity continues to be tight in the enclave, with junkets seeing capital withdrawals.

Macau trails other gambling hubs in bouncing back from Covid-19. The Las Vegas Strip, for example, saw gaming revenue recover to 60% of last year’s level in July after casinos gradually began reopening in early June.

The industry expects gaming revenue during China’s Golden Week, which started Thursday, to be about 30%-50% of last year’s level, said Linda Chen, vice chairman of Wynn Macau Ltd.

Market Performance

The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Macau casino operators dropped 15% in September amid the slow pace of recovery and analyst downgrades. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 6.8% in the same period.