The Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau posted the traditional monthly report on the revenue generated at the Chinese administrative region’s gambling venues over the past 30 days. Macau is known to be the only Chinese territory where casino gambling is legal.
Revenue amounted to MOP17.3 billion ($2.2 billion) in April, down 9.5% as compared to the figures posted for the same month a year ago. Casino revenue at the special administrative region has been dropping for 23 consecutive months now. In other words, June 2014 was the last time when local casinos posted an increase in proceeds.
The 9.5% decrease reported for April 2016 did not meet analysts’ forecasts. Macau’s casino revenue had been expected to drop at least 13.5% last month. In March, proceeds from the city’s gambling venues fell 16.3% as compared to the figures posted for the same month of 2015.
The slighter than expected revenue drop was attributed to the fact that gaming tables at Macau’s casinos attracted quite a number of mass market players.
As mentioned above, gambling venues at the Chinese administrative region have been in a serious downturn since 2014 after the Mainland government launched an anti-corruption campaign that resulted in high roller players staying away from Macau.
The city has been the world’s largest and most popular gambling destination for some time now. Wealthy Chinese have always been among the biggest contributors to local casinos’ revenues and the fact that fewer customers of that group visited Macau was detrimental to its gambling industry and overall economy.
However, statistics show that declines in revenue from mass market players have started to narrow since last year. Following the Mainland China anti-corruption campaign and the withdrawal of wealthy Chinese customers from the gambling hub, the local government recommended that the six gambling operators that provide their services in the city should focus their attention on mass market players and the provision of more and diverse non-gaming options.
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. were the first to launch integrated resorts that were aimed at recreational gambling customers and non-gaming guests of the city. Four more such complexes are expected to open doors in 2016, with all four openings scheduled for the second half of the year.
