The first three months of the year saw the Macao government collect 22.2 billion patacas (US$2.79 billion) in gaming tax revenue, a rise of just 0.2 percent when compared with the same period last year, according to data from the Financial Services Bureau.
The figures show the gaming industry contributed 88.1 percent of Macao’s total tax revenue – 25.2 billion patacas (US$3.15 billion) – for the first quarter of 2025. It also shows the gaming tax take was tracking below expectations for the quarterly average, which is 23.3 billion patacas.
Total current revenue was also tracking below expectations for the quarterly average, coming in at 25.1 billion patacas instead of 28.1 billion patacas.
[See more: ‘Bear case.’ JP Morgan downgrades its 2025 gross gaming revenue forecast]
Gaming revenue has been flatter than forecast so far this year, resulting in analysts downgrading their predictions for the annual haul. Last week saw Seaport Research Partners, for example, cut its growth forecast from 6.5 percent down to 3 percent. The evolving trade war between the US and China and a weakening yuan have been given as some reasons for casinos’ lacklustre performance.
Macao generated gross gaming revenue of 57.65 billion patacas (US$7.21 billion) during the first three months of 2025, up by just 0.86 percent compared with the same period last year.
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai has acknowledged this was less than the official target of 20 billion patacas per month, and warned that Macao would face a budget deficit if the trend continued.
