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In Macau casinos, October topped May for best post-Covid performance

| By Marjorie Preston
Macau’s six casino concessionaires saw their best post-pandemic month in October. Healthy Golden Week visitation created banner business in the Special Administrative Region.
Wynn Resorts Macau

For the month, Macau casinos raked in gross gaming revenue (GGR) of MOP20.8 billion (£2 billion, €2.4 billion, $2.6 billion).

That’s 6% more than the previous post-pandemic high of MOP$20.2 billion, recorded in May. It also beat September GGR by 20%, according to the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).

Golden Week saw robust tourism

The month started with a bang as tourists flooded the city for the national Golden Week holiday, running 1-7 October.

From 2-5 October, arrivals from mainland China were up almost 55% year-on-year. And tourism peaked on 3 October, breaking the all-time single-day record with more than 174,000 visitors. The weekly tally exceeded 993,000, up 1.9% over 2019, before Covid shutdowns began. The city did not fully reopen its borders until 6 January 2023.

According to the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), hotels in the city posted record occupancy, peaking at 98.5% on 3-4 October. The Macau Daily Times reported that daily room rates were 4% higher on average than during the same period in 2019.

Monthly haul points to full-year bonanza

Gaming spend exceeded expectations: an average MOP1.08 billion per day, versus the more modest estimate of MOP900 million, as reported by Macao News.

JP Morgan analysts said the results implied “mass GGR [recovery of] 130% to 140% of pre-Covid levels”. VIP play was up, too, by 35% and per capita spend rose 25% over pre-Covid levels. 

The rising tide anticipates stronger full-year performance. The local government had projected annual GGR of MOP216 billion. Now it’s looking to a total of almost MOP240 billion.

Year to date through October, GGR came to MOP$190.1 billion, up 28.1% over the same period in 2023.