Gaming revenues dive as tourists stay away

Macau is suffering the aftermath of its worst Covid outbreak ever, with gaming revenue falling 50.7 percent in August as tourists continued to stay away on fear of getting trapped in snap lockdowns.

Gross gaming revenue dropped to 2.19 billion patacas (HK$2.13 billion), according to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau yesterday. The results were worse than the median analyst estimate of a 47.5 percent year-on-year decline, prolonging a slump that started from March.

Revenue surged over five times from July, when Macau was in lockdown, but was still down 91 percent from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Arrivals improved slightly late last month, with average daily visitation picking up to about 15,000 between August 20 and 27, but was still down 87 percent from the pre-pandemic levels in 2019.