The local government collected 7.34 billion patacas (US$911 million) from gaming operators in January, according to publicly available data from the Financial Services Bureau.
The sum is a 365 percent increase over similar taxes collected in January 2023 – an expected surge, given that a year ago Macao had only just emerged from Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
TDM reports that the figure represents almost 9 percent of the total gaming tax the government is expecting to collect in 2024.
[See more: Macao’s recovery is taking a toll on the mental health of casino workers, group says]
The latest impost was levied on the 18.57 billion patacas (US$2.30 billion) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by local casinos in December of last year.
January’s GGR was even higher, reaching 19.3 billion patacas (US$2.37 billion) and exceeding market expectations.
Analysts say the territory’s full-year GGR for 2024 could grow by nearly 30 percent and stand as high as 234 billion patacas (US$28.98 billion).
