Gross gaming revenue (GGR) at Macao’s casinos for September stood at 14.94 billion patacas, according to figures from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
The sum represents a fall of 13.2 percent from the 17.21 billion patacas generated in August and is a disappointing performance that analysts partly attribute to adverse weather in September, when Macao was hit by both a typhoon and a severe rainstorm within a week.
By comparison, GGR in September 2019 – the year before the pandemic – was over 22 billion patacas. Monthly GGR figures generally stood above 20 billion patacas from 2017 until the onset of Covid-19 at the start of 2020.
[See more: Macao’s recovery will beat expectations this year, a local economist says]
Accumulated GGR for the year so far meanwhile stands at 128.95 billion patacas, compared to 31.81 billion patacas at the same period last year when Macao was still under the cloud of Covid-19.
A GGR target of 130 billion patacas has been set by the government for 2023, but it is widely believed that the goal will be exceeded. Prof. Davis Fong of the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau has estimated that GGR will reach 180 to 190 billion patacas this year.
Analysts are also expecting a revenue windfall during the long Golden Week holiday following National Day. A report from JP Morgan suggests that casinos could take in up to 850 million patacas per day during the week that runs until 6 October, then as much as 450 million per day on the weekend of 7 and 8 October.
