Casino earnings rose by 13.67 percent month-on-month, driven by increased visitor traffic from festive events such as the five-day long Labour Day holiday
Macao casinos earn 22.61 billion patacas in May, up 6.7 percent year-on-year
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Macao’s casino industry generated a gross gaming revenue (GGR) of 22.61 billion patacas (US$2.8 billion) in May, an increase of 6.7 percent over the 21.19 billion patacas (US$2.62 billion) logged during the same month last year.
The figure also represents a month-on-month rise of 13.67 percent against the 19.89 billion patacas (US$2.46 billion) recorded in April, according to data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
May’s GGR growth was driven by the festive events that took place that month, most notably the five-day long Labour Day break between 1 and 5 May, which significantly boosted Macao’s tourism traffic.
Law enforcement data indicates that the SAR welcomed around 873,000 visitor arrivals during the holiday period, with mainland tourists accounting for 83 percent of the total, followed by visitors from Hong Kong (10.8 percent), Taiwan (1.3 percent) and overseas (4.9 percent).
[See more: Macao’s casino operators to report flat earning for the second quarter, analysts say]
Overall, the local casino sector generated a GGR of 108.37 billion patacas (US$13.43 billion) in the first five months of this year, a jump of 10.9 percent in comparison to the 97.7 billion patacas (US$12.11 billion) from the same period last year.
Looking ahead, Morgan Stanley expects Macao’s gaming industry to record a revenue growth of just 4.5 percent in the second quarter, a significant reduction in comparison to the GGR jump of 14 percent in the first quarter. The downturn is due to factors such as higher operating costs.
As for this year, the Macao government’s 2026 budget projects a cumulative GGR of 236 billion patacas (US$29.4 billion), a rise of 3.5 percent when compared to the government’s revised 2025 forecast of 228 billion patacas (US$28.28 billion). This is in contrast to the higher expectations of some analysts who have suggested year-on-year growth rates ranging from 3 to 7 percent.
Regardless, the SAR’s projected GGR for 2026 still remains lower than the pre-pandemic 2019 figure of 292.45 billion patacas (US$36.28 billion).
