According to data from Macau’s gaming watchdog, the DICJ, February gross gaming revenue in Macau topped MOP10.32 billion ($1.27 billion) last month, up 33.1 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. However, the figure only amounted to 41 percent of the February 2019 GGR level of MOP25.04 billion ($3.1 billion).
Professor Davis Ka Chio FONG, director of the Gaming Research Institute at UM, was interviewed by ‘AGB’ recently. He predicts that Macau will have a stronger rebound in gross gaming revenue in the second half of the current year, as the free movement of business people and tourists has been facilitated more and more. Predictions are for full-year revenue to reach up to MOP150 billion ($18.5 billion).
Based on his studies, Professor Davis Ka Chio FONG said that the monthly GGR of Macau has been circa MOP10.9 billion ($1.3 billion), which will lead to 1H23 GGR of around MOP70 billion ($8.7 billion).“2023 is a very special year, as the dropping of travel restrictions was unexpected, and a lot of sectors were not well prepared”, notes the professor, pointing out that – given the circumstances – it takes time to return to the pre-pandemic service environment.
Professor Davis Ka Chio FONG also told AGB that Macau’s gaming concessionaires are very “hardworking” in making sure they fulfill their new commitments under the 10-year gaming licenses, with 91 percent of their pledged $14.79 billion in new investments to be directed at non-gaming. As these facilities, and more, begin to ramp up, coupled with the return in gaming visitors, the scholar opines that Macau will see a stronger rebound in 2H23, paving the way for a bright 2023 – a much-awaited return for a city brought low by three years of restrictive measures due to the pandemic.
Sources: agbrief.com
