Macau gambling revenue falls 28.45% in October, 17th straight month of decline

[HONG KONG] Gambling revenue in the Chinese territory of Macau fell 28.4 per cent in October from the same period a year earlier, marking the 17th consecutive month of decline, as wealthy clients continued to stay away from China's only legal casino hub.

VIP gamblers, which account for about half of revenue, have been staying away from Macau, deterred by a campaign by China's central government against conspicuous spending by public officials, which in turn is part of a wider investigation into unauthorised outflows of money from the mainland.

Revenue fell to 20.06 billion patacas (US$2.51 billion) from 28.03 billion patacas a year prior, but was higher than the 17.13 billion patacas of September, showed Macau government data released on Sunday.

Six analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated an October decline ranging from 26 per cent to 29 per cent.

The month of October included China's National Day holiday, and the opening of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd's US$3.2 billion Studio City resort.

REUTERS