Macau gambling revenue hits two-year high in February

Macau recorded its highest gambling revenue total in more than two years as it generated 23 billion patacas (€2.7 billion/$2.9 billion) during February.

The amount is up on the 19.5 billion patacas collected in February of last year, according to data released by the government.

The February figure also represents the seventh consecutive month of revenue growth for the special administrative region of China.

Macau is the only area in China where citizens are legally allowed to gamble, but has struggled in recent times. Following a crackdown on corruption, 2016 was the third year in a row that the region’s gaming sector fell.

However, Richard Huang, analyst at Nomura in Hong Kong, said that more recent results, including those posted for February, suggest a change in fortunes.

“While it is hard to call the last week’s results a trend, the industry has showed clear signs of stabilisation,” Huang said, according to The Star.

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