Macao’s gaming tax revenue saw a notable increase in August, climbing to 8.31 billion patacas (US$1.04 billion), a 2.5 percent rise from July’s haul.
The figures from the Financial Services Bureau were reported by Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) and reflect July’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) of 22.1 billion patacas (US$2.73 billion), which marked a 19 percent year-on-year increase and set a new post-pandemic record at the time.
For the first eight months of the year, gaming tax contributions to the government totalled 61.9 billion patacas (US$7.71 billion), an increase of 5.3 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
Gaming tax revenue accounted for 85.5 percent of the total government revenue of 72.4 billion patacas (US$9.02 billion) for this period. With an annual budget of 93.1 billion patacas (US$11.6 billion) for gaming duty in the 2025 financial year, the revenue collected thus far represents 69.9 percent of the target, IAG says.
[See more: Premium mass wagers at Macao’s casinos climb despite player decline, survey finds]
The Macao gaming sector is currently experiencing strong momentum, with gross gaming revenue reaching 163.1 billion patacas (US$20.3 billion) for the first eight months of 2025. Analysts at Jefferies anticipate this positive trend to continue through September, leading into the “golden week” Chinese national holiday which commences on 1 October, casino website iGaming Business reports.
According to assessments from Anne Ling and Jingjue Pei of Jefferies, Macao’s GGR for the period of 1 to 7 September showed a 10 percent year-on-year increase. They attribute this growth to “rich entertainment events, new properties, more incentives to players and appreciating asset values,” in addition to a “new wealth” segment of consumers possessing greater discretionary income.
Ling and Pei expect these factors to sustain GGR growth for the remainder of the year, forecasting a 13.8 percent increase for the third quarter, 15.3 percent for the fourth quarter, and 9.5 percent for the full year 2025.
Jefferies has consequently adjusted its full-year forecast upwards from 237 billion patacas (US$29.5 billion) to 248 billion patacas (US$30.9 billion), exceeding the government’s more conservative estimate of 228 billion patacas (US$28.4 billion). Looking further ahead, the bank projects growth of 3.5 percent in 2026 and 3.4 percent in 2027.
