The Macau government expects the local casino industry to generate 130 billion (US$16.25 billion) in gross gaming revenue next year, public broadcaster Radio Macau/TDM reported yesterday.
The broadcaster said that it had seen the government's 2021 budget bill, which is still under wraps. It is slated to be submitted to the legislature for debate and vote next month.
The report quotes the bill's accompanying text as saying that the gaming sector still needed a certain period of time to recover from the adverse impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on Macau's economy. The government also predicted that the situation of Macau's economy next year would remain "critical", according to the report.
According to Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) data, Macau's casinos generated 292 billion patacas in gross gaming revenue last year.
In the first nine months of the year, the casino industry recorded 38.6 billion patacas in gross gaming revenue, a decline of 82.5 percent year-on-year.
This year's 2020 budget had forecast gaming gross revenue of 260 billion patacas. The first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Macau on January 22.
The 2021 budget bill also forecasts the government's direct gaming tax income to amount to 45.5 billion patacas, about half the amount originally budgeted for this year.
In the first nine months of this year, the government's income from direct gaming taxes amounted to 23.4 billion patacas, a year-on-year decline of 72.6 percent.
Macau's casinos pay 35 percent of their gross gaming revenue as direct gaming tax to the government. They pay up to five percent of their gross gaming revenue as additional "contributions" into the public coffers.
According to DICJ data, Macau has 41 casinos owned by six rival gaming operators. Four of the casinos, all of them owned by SJM, are currently suspended.
