Macau GGR up going into Golden Week

Last month, gross gaming revenue in Macau totalled MOP18.81 billion ($2.35 billion), up 1.7% year-on-year, per the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. The modest improvement surprised analysts, who forecast a 1.25% year-on-year drop.

The boost portends a good start to Golden Week, the five-day Chinese holiday that started 1 May.

Historically, according to data cited by Macau Business, Macau casinos post the highest revenue in May, August and October. During those months, millions of mainland tourists flood the special administrative region, the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.

China stimulus driving upturn in Macau GGR

The bump in GGR has been linked to an improving Chinese economy.

Analyst Vitaly Umansky of Seaport Research Partners said consumer confidence, especially among the upper-middle class, is the “key to driving upward growth in Macau”.

“[E]scalation of US tariffs remains an overhang and parts of the China economy remain weak (i.e., consumer spend, real estate),” Umansky continued. But stimulus measures from the central government should “improve economic activity and consumer confidence in 2025”.

The US-China trade war could also prompt Beijing to “more forcefully implement stimulative measures to help drive consumption,” he noted. “Such policy initiatives should have a positive tailwind to Macau revenues.”

Golden Week an important barometer

Year-to-date, Macau casinos have generated MOP76.51 billion, up 0.8% over the same period in 2024. But the monthly average of MOP19.12 billion is still short of the MOP20 billion necessary to meet the yearly target of MOP240 billion.

The Macau Government Tourism Office expects 127,000 to 140,000 daily visitors for the Golden Week holiday, which Bloomberg called “the next important data point”. Casinos and the local government are ramping up after-hours entertainment in a bid for more overnight stays.