Macau Mass GGR Expected to Fully Recover During Golden Week In October

Summary:

• Macau’s mass GGR should return to 2019 levels in early Oct as visitor numbers continue to pick up
• The “whales” are also back and still willing to gamble huge amounts of money
• China partners with neighboring countries to stop cross-border gambling

Macau is expected to see a full recovery in mass-market casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) this October, helped by the consistent increase in visitor volume. In particular, GGR will most likely return to pre-pandemic levels during “October Golden Week”, a holiday period commemorating the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

100% Recovery Expected this Oct

JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd stated in a recent note that Macau’s daily GGR from August 1-20 stood at around MOP560 million (US$69.4 million), up from the MOP537 million recorded in July. JP Morgan analysts Selina Li, DS Kim, and Mufan Shi said that figure represents a daily run rate of 90 to 95% of 2019 levels. In total, Macau’s mass GGR for August so far is at MOP11.2 billion.

As visitor numbers continue to ramp up, JP Morgan said Macau’s mass GGR should achieve 100% recovery in the first week of October which has been designated as the 2023 “Golden Week” in China. Running from September 29 to October 6 this year, the annual holiday is usually marked by various events and festivities to celebrate China’s National Day (October 1). This period is among Macau’s peak seasons, during which casino revenue enjoys a huge boost.

With full recovery in Macau’s mass GGR near at hand, analysts from Citigroup also noticed that the so-called “whales” are starting to return to the city. In the context of casino gambling, whales refer to high rollers or gamblers with massive bankrolls.

As many as 24 whales have so far played at Macau casinos in August, which Citigroup said is the highest single-month record in 2023. That compares to the 27 tallied during the 2019 Chinese New Year.

Citigroup analysts Ryan Cheung and George Choi said these whales have been placing bets of between HKD100,000 (approx. US$12,670) and HKD500,000 per hand, which suggests that they are still willing to wager exceptionally large amounts of money despite China’s present economic state.

China Partners With Neighbors To Stop Cross-Border Gambling

In an unrelated development, China has intensified its campaign against cross-border online gambling and telecom fraud by establishing a cooperation center in partnership with neighboring countries, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. The center will be located in Thailand’s Chiang Mai province.