Macau Gambling Set For $2.36 Billion Revenues In March

Macau

Macau has been showing healthy signs that it is nearly back to pre-pandemic footings with daily gross earnings hitting the $77.9 million mark, the city’s gaming industry is on a roll. This growth is expected to exceed $2.36 billion in total revenues for March, according to a recent report by JP Morgan.

As per the recent data provided by investment bank JP Morgan, the Macau gaming industry has been showing a robust performance. The daily gross revenues of the industry have reached approximately $77.9 million. This promising growth hints at no signs of a slowdown and, in fact, is expected to exceed the $2.36 billion mark for total revenues in March.

Analysing the growth, JP Morgan has observed a sustained demand within the Macau market. The gross gaming revenues have totaled around $1.85 billion for the first 24 days of March, suggesting an average daily revenue of approximately $77 million. This indicates only a slight decrease of 1% to 2% compared to the average daily revenue of $78.2 million recorded in January and February 2024.

“This compares with a 104-percent recovery in fourth-quarter 2023, suggesting mass gaming demand can grow by +3 percent to 4 percent quarter-on-quarter in first-quarter 2024, to outperform the historical seasonality of +2 percent quarter-on-quarter,” remarked JP Morgan analysts.

This performance is in stark contrast with the typical “historical trend of -4% month-on-month” experienced by Macau casinos in March. The accelerated activity during this typically slower period contributes to the city’s overall gross gaming revenue. Interestingly, the mass gaming market is reported to be growing at a rate of approximately 110% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

While the mass market experiences robust growth, the VIP segment lags behind, with recovery levels remaining approximately 20% lower. However, other segments are driving industry growth forward.

“We continue to model March to print a GGR of circa MOP19 billion ($2.36 billion), which will drive first-quarter GGR to grow 5 percent quarter-on-quarter – or over 60 percent year-on-year – to be yet another post-pandemic high,” the report said.

JP Morgan anticipates that the gross gaming revenues for the first quarter of 2024 will exceed the results of the fourth quarter of 2023 by approximately 5%, setting a new record for the Macau gaming industry.