Macau GGR down 79 per cent in 2020

Gross gaming revenues in Macau fell nearly 66 per cent in December, compared with the same month of 2019, at US$977m, but it was actually the highest return since January of 2020.

The Macau government’s Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau reported that the GGR was up nearly 16 per cent on the previous month. However, the bureau figures indicate that the December GGR was the 15th month in succession of year-on-year decreases since October of 2019.

The December improvement, it said, was the result of larger numbers of visitors to Macau, at an average of just over 24,500 per day towards the end of December. The mainland China relaxation of its stringent rules governing how many people can visit Macau had helped considerably.

The complete year showed GGR of $7.56bn, down 79 per cent on the 2019 figures, a direct result of the pandemic.