What’s new: Macao’s economic recovery has taken hold after the reopening of borders with the mainland and Hong Kong earlier this year, notably marked by a swift resurgence in gaming industry revenue.
Revenues of casinos in the special administrative region grew 400% year-on-year to 19.5 billion patacas ($2.4 billion) in October, according to data released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau on Wednesday.
The world’s largest gambling hub has seen casino revenues returning to 74% of its pre-Covid levels, driven by traffic during China’s week-long National Day holiday.
Between January and October, Macao’s gaming industry revenue hit 148.4 billion patacas, a 315.6% surge from the same period in 2022. This figure has surpassed the government’s projected annual revenue of 130 billion patacas.
Stephen Iong-Kong Leong, the Director of the Macau Financial Services Bureau, said last week that a notable increase in next year’s public fiscal revenue compared to recent years can be expected.
Background: Macao saw a surge of visitor inflow from the mainland during the National Day holiday in early October, boosting the city’s gaming revenue.
Traveler arrivals during the holiday reached 931,000, taking the daily average to about 84% of the same period in 2019, according to official data. About 78% of the visitors were from the Chinese mainland.
In its 2024 fiscal budget, the Macao SAR government projected that the city’s 2024 net gambling revenue will reach 216 billion patacas, leading to the city's fiscal revenue returning to a surplus for the first time since the pandemic.
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