JP Morgan Securities Asia Pacific analysts said in a note this week that Macau’s daily run-rate of roughly US$5.4 million (43.4 million patacas) in casino win last month was the same as July’s, calling the figure “disappointing”. The analysts said a shrinkage in VIP gambling was the likely culprit, casino.org writer Devin O’Connor quoted them as saying on Tuesday.
The three analysts – DS Kim, Derek Choi and Jeremy An – noted that VIP demand also seems to have contracted in recent weeks, as junkets operators and gamblers “kept a low profile amidst stepped-up scrutiny on capital control and overseas gambling.”
According to statistics released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) on Tuesday, Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) fell 94.5 percent year-on-year to 1.33 billion patacas (US$167 million) in August
Month-to-month, casino receipts were down 1.04 percent.
In the first eight months of the year, the sector’s revenues generated by games of chance fell 81.6 percent year-on-year to 36.39 billion patacas.
August recorded the industry’s third lowest takings this year, after April (754 million patacas) and June (716 million patacas).
August marked the fifth consecutive month where Macau’s casinos suffered at least 90 percent year-on-year decrease. August was also the 11th straight month of GGR loss, O’Connor pointed out.
Macau’s gross gaming revenue began to decline drastically in February. The first COVID-19 case was recorded in the city on January 22. A total of 46 cases have been recorded since then, none of them fatal. All the patients have been cured and discharged from hospital. Unlike Hong Kong, Macau has not recorded a community outbreak of the contagious disease. At the end of June, Macau’s population – comprising residents and non-resident workers – stood at 685,400, according to the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC).
Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Macau imposed strict entry curbs and quarantine regulations early this year. However, the entry curbs on mainland Chinese visitors have been gradually relaxed since last month and are slated to be further eased late this month.
Foreign nationals without a residency permit in Macau have been barred from entering Macau since early this year. Due to Macau’s strict adherence to the “One China” policy, there have been special entry regulations for compatriots from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Macau’s six gaming operators (three concessionaires and three subconcessionaires) own 41 casinos. The operations of three casinos, all of them owned by SJM, have been suspended for quite a while.
At the end of June, the gaming sector had 57,459 full-time employees, including 25,344 dealers (croupiers), according to the DSEC data. The sector employed about 14 percent of Macau’s total workforce of 406,500 in the May-July employment survey period, the data showed.
