Macau casino revenue plummets to new low in April

Revenue from Macau’s casinos declined further in April, with operators taking in just MOP754m (£76.0m/€86.6m/$95.1m), a record low and 96.8% below takings from April 2019.

Despite the fact that all casinos in Macau were forced to close for 14 days in February and many remained closed for significant parts of March, the total was down 85.7% from March’s revenue and 75.7% from February’s.

One reason for the decline was a decision on 25 March ordering all non-residents arriving in Macau to self-isolate for 14 days.

Macau’s gambling revenue for the year now totals MOP31.24bn, down 68.0% from the first four months of 2019. Of this total, more than two thirds is still made up of January’s revenue.

Last month (20 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.

Ho added that action taken by prior governments to diversify economically have yielded “no noticeable results,” with gaming still representing more than half of its economy.