Advertisement
In September 2024, Macau’s casinos saw a mixed situation. Their gross gaming revenue (GGR) dropped significantly from the previous month but was still up compared to last year.
Macau’s casino revenue had a mixed month in September 2024:
According to the local Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), the GGR was MOP 17.25 billion (about US$2.15 billion), which is 12.7% less than August’s GGR of MOP 19.8 billion (US$2.47 billion). This was the lowest GGR for 2024 so far.
In September 2024, Macau’s casino revenue showed mixed results. While it dropped from August, the year-on-year numbers were more positive, with a 15.5% increase from MOP 14.94 billion in September 2023. This revenue also reached 78.3% of what it was in September 2019, before the pandemic, when it was MOP 22.1 billion (US$2.76 billion).
Factors Influencing Revenue Decline
Several reasons contributed to the drop in September’s revenue. Analysts noted that September is a quieter time for tourism, sitting between the summer holidays and the busy October Golden Week. Other factors like bad weather, crackdowns on illegal money exchanges in China, and fewer weekends compared to August also played a role.
For the first nine months of 2024, the total GGR was MOP 169.36 billion (US$21.1 billion), marking a significant 31.3% increase compared to the same period last year. This indicates a strong recovery overall, despite some ups and downs.
Citigroup also noted an interesting trend in Macau’s casinos: more high-stakes gamblers, known as ‘whales’, who bet HKD 100,000 or more. This year, the number and amount bet by these players have already surpassed the totals for all of 2023.
Tourism Outlook During National Day Golden Week
As Macau dealt with these economic changes, it also welcomed the National Day Golden Week, starting unofficially with 96,671 visitors on September 29. This positive start suggests larger crowds are expected for the week.
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) head, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, expressed cautious but optimistic expectations for an average of 100,000 visitors every day during Golden Week. Amazingly, 931,000 tourists arrived during that week last year, with an average of almost 116,000 each day.
The Macau hotel industry is hopeful that this festive season will see strong occupancy rates and visitor counts, which might establish new records for tourism and the region’s economic recovery.
After the DICJ released Macau’s September GGR, which dropped nearly 13% from the previous month to MOP 17.3 billion (US$2.16 billion), JP Morgan analysts DS Kim, Mufan Shi, and Selina Li noted that the results weren’t as bad as anticipated. This is particularly notable given the recent negative trends in China’s consumer and luxury sectors.
They added that there wouldn’t be many shocks in the third-quarter results, which are soon to be released. They are curious to see how casino owners fare over this year’s Golden Week vacation, though.
“We expect this Golden Week’s GGR to fall in between the last year’s at MOP$830 million (US$103.6 million) per day and 2024 May Day’s MOP$910 million (US$113.6 million) per day prints, generating around MOP$850 million (US$106.1 million) daily run-rate,” the analysts wrote.
“We’ll get our first check next Monday (October 7) for the first six days of Golden Week, and any print of over MOP$900 million (US$112.4 million) per day (implying a double-digit year-on-year growth despite reasonably tough comps) could add momentum to the current rally, in our view.”
ALSO READ: How To Play Blackjack Switch: A Complete Guide To Rules And Strategies
