Macau gaming revenue misses estimate in post-summer slowdown
[MACAU] Macau’s gaming revenue rose 6 per cent in September, missing analyst expectations as visitation fell in a post-summer holiday slowdown in the world’s biggest gambling hub.
Gross gaming revenue reached 18.3 billion patacas (S$2.9 billion) for the month, according to data released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau on Wednesday (Oct 1). That compared with the median analyst estimate of a 9 per cent year-on-year increase, and is still 17 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
September is typically a slow month for Macau, following the summer holiday peak travel period. The city was also hit by bad weather, including Super Typhoon Ragasa that saw the gambling hub issue its top storm signal and shut casinos for more than a day.
Macau saw a tourism boom in August, reporting about 4.2 million visitor arrivals for the month, which was 116 per cent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019. The city will release data for September later this month.
Still, the city may see another gaming boom in October, with China – its biggest source of tourism – entering a weeklong National Day holiday starting from the beginning of the month. The break is dubbed the Golden Week.
Macau’s efforts in rolling out more concerts and major events remains one of the key drivers for its gaming growth, Citi analyst George Choi wrote in a note. Upcoming events include the NBA China Games in October, which will feature the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns playing pre-season games.
The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Macau casino operators rose 3.75 per cent in September, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 7.1 per cent. BLOOMBERG
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