Recovery in Macau aggregated gross gaming revenues remains elusive

Travel restrictions implemented to help stop the spread of coronavirus were reportedly largely to blame as Macau recorded a 93.2% year-on-year decrease in aggregated gross gaming revenues for last month to just $220.94 million.

According to reports from GGRAsia and Inside Asian Gaming citing official figures from the enclave’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, the May result represented the second consecutive month in which Macau had chalked up an over 90% comparable diminution in aggregated gross gaming revenues following April’s decline of 96.8% to slightly over $94.42 million.

Annual wane:

The sources reported that the most recent tally also means that the 39 casinos in Macau have now logged aggregated gross gaming revenues of roughly $4.13 billion since the start of the year, which represents a slump of 73.7% when contrasted against the $15.74 billion documented for the same five-month period in 2019.

Daily deficit:

To make matters worse and GGRAsia cited international brokerage Sanford C Bernstein Limited in detailing that Macau’s comparable average daily aggregated gross gaming revenues for last month actually fell into negative territory for the seven days from May 18 due to hold volatility and an ever-diminishing player base. The institution purportedly moreover noted that the eventual month-long median of $7.14 million was 126% lower when compared with April and stood some 66% down versus March.

Coronavirus closure:

Macau is home to some of the world’s most iconic casinos including the lotus-shaped Casino Grand Lisboa and is said to have recorded its first official coronavirus infection on January 22. The city of some 632,000 inhabitants subsequently took the unprecedented decision to temporarily shutter every one of its gambling-friendly establishments from February 4 as its tally of such cases surpassed ten.

Tourism troubles:

Although Macau re-opened all of its casinos on February 20 after recording just 45 incidents of the potentially lethal ailment with no deaths, GGRAsia reported that people travelling between the former Portuguese enclave and mainland China or Hong Kong are still required to undergo 14 days of quarantine. The city was purportedly furthermore cut off from one of its main sources for gamblers in March after Beijing postponed its Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), which had allowed tourists from 49 communities to venture in the self-governing territory without having to be part of a tour group.

Coming confidence:

Looking ahead and Inside Asian Gaming cited an analysis from Credit Suisse AG as predicting that casinos in Macau could quickly post up to a 50% recovery in terms of their VIP business once these coronavirus-related travel restrictions are lifted. The institution purportedly additionally envisioned that this fount of revenues could recuperate to hit almost pre-pandemic levels by the summer although mass-market takings may take until the end of September to reach 80% of their former levels.