Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng confirmed the estimate during yesterday’s celebrations marking Macao SAR Establishment Day.
gross gaming revenue
None of the concessionaires have applied for the rebates, reports say, and they are not mentioned in Macao’s 2024 budget.
The dip was anticipated by the gaming sector, given that October’s figure reflected the ‘golden week’ holiday windfall.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong also predicted that gross gaming revenue for 2023 could top 200 billion patacas.
By the end of October, the government’s income from gaming taxes had already edged past its target for the whole year.
Kenneth Feng, president and executive director, said the operator was excited about Macao’s continued recovery and diversification.
The bill also proposes raising public servants’ salaries and continuing the annual cash handout to residents.
Gaming boss Robert Goldstein says speculation should be around how big the market could get, not whether or not it will recover.
However, the figure for August is still only 71 percent of the sum registered for the same month in 2019, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
