Macau casino revenue down 93% in May

Casinos in Macau took in revenue of MOP1.76bn (£177.9m/€198.4m/$220.4m) in May, more than double revenue for April but down 93.2% year-on-year, as the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic continued to have a major impact on business.

Revenue for 2020 to date now totals MOP33.00bn, down 73.7% year-on-year. More than two third of this total continues to be from January’s revenue, which itself was down 11.3% from the year prior.

The continued low revenue figures – less than February and March, when casinos were ordered to close for 14 days – is likely mostly due to a decision on 25 March ordering all non-residents arriving in Macau to self-isolate for 14 days.

The territory’s government also announced on 30 May that gross domestic product (GDP) fell 48.7% in the first quarter of 2020, with the decline of the tourism and casino industry, as well as the gaming services industry, playing a large part.

In April, Macao’s head of government, chief executive Ho Iat Seng criticised the country’s “excessive dependence” upon the gambling industry. In Macau’s annual policy report, Ho said this dependence meant the special administrative region was especially hard-hit by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.