Casinos in Macau record improvement in revenue

Added: February 1, 2021

Macau casinos definitely relished in a positive period in time last December after they saw a little improvement in their overall activity levels, compared to what they were witnessing in November. Gross gaming revenue, however, still ended up being lower than what people were wishing for, a whopping 65% lower than it was in December of 2019. Nevertheless, there was a 16% improvement from the previous month.

2021 has surely not kicked off in an amazing, life-changing start, but the light at the end of the tunnel is drawing nearer and nearer, and hope is in the cards for Macau’s casinos as they report an improved GGR than the previous month.

Since February of 2020, casinos in the city have witnessed an incredibly fragile performance. These last two successive months have seen decent improvement, and this can count as a minuscule triumph for the gaming sector and the region in general. January’s GGR was even better than December’s, judging by the 2.6% improvement. According to Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, an alleged $1 billion was reported by the casinos in the city.

This leap in revenue will surely not bring forth huge celebrations, seeing as Macau and even mainland China have had to impose stricter restrictions on travel after a surge in COVID-19 numbers was recorded and threatened the local population. This has negatively affected the city’s various sectors, and the anticipated Chinese New Year will not be bearing any hope or consolation either.

Analysts who work with the Sanford C. Bernstein brokerage explained what is causing the boost in the city and stated:

On a relative basis, premium mass was the best performing segment during the month, while junket VIP was most hamstrung and base mass continued to be hampered by low levels of visitors and Hong Kong travel closure. January continued to be negatively impacted by visitation bottlenecks due to visa processing and [COVID-19] test requirements, and by weakness in VIP volumes.

Since last November, the gaming sector in Macau has been witnessing a constant advancement of more than 18%. This is a massive amount when you take into account all the destruction that the COVID-19 pandemic caused. A large chunk of analysts do not believe that a recovery will take place until the end of the year, possibly even longer. Still, any growth in the right direction will be well-received during such times.

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