Macau casinos have seen an increase in revenue for the second consecutive month in October with the six operators making more money than in the month of September.
A total of MOP3.9 billion (US$482.3 million) was recorded as Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) last month. Though it amounts to an almost 11% decline from the revenues earned in October 2021 it is 31% higher than in the month of September 2022 when the casinos earned around $365.5 million.
The last 10 months of revenue for casinos in Macau totals to MOP35.7 billion (US$4.42 billion) which is half of what casinos earned from their patrons last year from January to October 2021. The amount is also only 14% more than $30.5 billion in GGR which the casinos won through 10 months in 2019, prior to the pandemic.
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Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts, Wynn Resorts, and Melco Resorts are the four US-traded casino companies which traded higher on Tuesday morning. The gains earned are not related to October gaming revenue report but are a result of the Chinese government resuming the electronic visa program.
People living in mainland China who wished to travel to Hong Kong or Macau had to visit in person to apply for a visa before the electronic program started. The process was often very time consuming and tedious, waiting for one’s turn in lengthy queues before receiving any kind of approval.
The return of E-visa could finally mean more traffic to Macau casinos which is also great news for the casino license holders who are currently waiting for a chance to recover from the pandemic in the world’s richest market in terms of revenue.
China’s “Zero-Covid” policy has been frowned upon by many other country leaders and is said to be causing the ongoing supply chain issues. Despite all this, China remains the only global superpower that is ordering lockdowns.
A rumor on social media went viral in China saying that the leaders of the Communist party are forming a committee to assess how the country might exit “zero-COVID,” but the Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, he’s not aware of any kind of discussion.