Macau April gambling revenue plunges record 39% from year ago

[HONG KONG] Gambling revenue in the Chinese territory of Macau plummeted 38.8 per cent in April from a year earlier, the eleventh consecutive monthly fall as wealthy gamblers steered clear of the country's only legal casino hub.

A crackdown on corruption led by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which targets the illicit outflow of money from China, has slammed revenues in the world's biggest gambling hub, a former playground for connected businessmen and government officials.

While Macau's revenues still remain close to 6 times that of Las Vegas, the slowdown is highly visible within the former Portuguese colony's 35 casinos.

Gambling revenue fell to 19.167 billion patacas (S$3.2 billion) in April, from 31.318 billion patacas a year earlier, according to data released by the Macau government on Monday. Analysts were expecting a decline of around 38-40 per cent.

REUTERS