Macau’s casinos generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of 24.08 billion patacas (US$3.01 billion) last month, a year-on-year increase of 15.9 percent, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) announced today.
Last month’s GGR was the best since October 2019, when it amounted to 26.4 billion patacas.
Macau’s gaming industry was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for three consecutive years, from January 2020 to December 2022. Month-on-month, GGR in October rose by 31.7 percent. In the first 10 months of the year, GGR increased by 8.0 percent year-on-year to 205.4 billion patacas.
Macau’s government-concessioned gaming industry is operated by six rival integrated resort (IR) operators: Sands, Galaxy, SJM, Melco, Wynn, and MGM. Under their concession agreements with the government, the IR operators are required to strengthen their non-gaming attractions and support the promotion of Macau’s cultural heritage and old-quarter renewal projects. The operators pay 35 percent of their GGR as direct gaming tax to the government, in addition to a further 5.0 percent in levies for funding various public causes. However, the gaming law, amended in 2022, allows the government to reduce these additional levies (officially termed "contributions") for various reasons, such as when operators expand their foreign client markets or face unforeseen adverse developments affecting their business operations.
In the first three quarters of the year, according to the latest available official gaming statistics, baccarat generated 85 percent of local casinos' GGR across their 16 games of chance. Roulette, Europe’s classic game of chance, generated a mere 0.5 percent.
