Macau to cut forecast as June revenue drops

Gross gambling revenue in Macau in June is likely to be 80 per cent below its pre-Covid levels and the government is now planning to revise down its 2022 budget estimate as recovery lags.

In November last year, chief executive Ho Iat Seng said the government was budgeting on MOP130bn (US$16bn) in GGR for 2022, little changed from the previous year. In comments reported by local media this week, he said that the forecast would be cut.

In the first five months of the year, the city’s casinos have only generated GGR of MOP23.7bn due to ongoing travel restrictions as China battles an Omicron wave. That’s down 44 per cent from the cumulative total at that point last year.

In its weekly channel checks, Bernstein said that month-to-date daily GGR is down 85 per cent from its 2019 levels and 45 per cent slower than the same period in 2021. It is 11 per cent higher than the average daily rate in May.

The firm is predicting June GGR to be down 80 per cent from its pre-Covid levels, but warns that it could be worse if visitation doesn’t pick up.

Source: Asia Gaming Brief