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Macau Casinos GGR Crosses $1B for the Second Consecutive Month
By Jeff Osienya May 04, 2021 IndustryIn April, Macau, a.k.a. the gaming mecca of the East recorded the highest win from gaming since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. For the last two months back-to-back, casinos in the region have generated over $1 billion each month.Macau, the Special Administrative Region of China, generated a Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) of $1.05 billion (8.4 billion patacas) in April 2021. Compared to the same period in 2020, last month's win has surged by a whopping 1,014%. Last April, Macau's gaming world was lights out due to the raging Coronavirus pandemic, and China had ramped up its harsh but necessary travel restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. As a result, the gaming revenue of China's Special Administrative Region (SAR) ended up in a historic dip of 97% to bring in only $95 million (754 million patacas)
The numbers were released on Saturday by Macau's Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau or the DICJ (an acronym based on the regulator's Portuguese moniker. DICJ's Saturday report further indicates that April's haul was 1.1% higher than March, which came in at $1.04 billion (8.31 billion patacas).
Vital Signs of a Bright Post-Pandemic Gaming Future
As immaterial as the month-to-month improvement may seem, it is a significant step for China's SAR as it marks the second consecutive month of a positive revenue movement since last year's pandemic shortfalls. Moreover, March's GGR was 13.6% higher than February's $914.5 million (7.31 billion patacas) win after recovering from a slight 8.9% slide over the first month of 2021.
March's figure is a 58% jump year-over-year, whereas February recorded a 135.6% surge compared to the same month last year as February 2020 was cut short halfway through when forced COVID-19 closures were imposed. So far, since the beginning of the year, the gaming hub of the East has generated a GGR of $4 billion (320 billion patacas). Compared to the first four months of 2020, China's SAR has collected 2.6% more revenue.
Macau's latest figures are a breath of fresh air for its post-pandemic future as they indicate a strong sign of growth. But then again, even with the encouraging showing so far, Macau's gaming numbers are still a shadow of its past performance. Looking at April 2020, for example, the GGR is about 65% shy of what the gaming Mecca garnered for the same month in 2019.
Daily Visitor Arrivals Continue Swelling
Macau's recent recovery is primarily attributed to the upward trend for daily visitor arrivals, especially in April. According to the Government Tourism Office, the volume of average daily arrivals in April rose to the highest levels yet since the sharp downfall due to Coronavirus travel bans. According to reports, Macau's peak in April was on the 18th day of the month when about 36,500 visitors arrived in the city.
The Macau Public Security Police expects the daily visitor levels of the just-passed Labor Day weekend to beat last month's peak volume to about 40,000 tourists. The Macau Security Police is the force that keeps tabs on visitors' movement in and out of the SAR. As we speak, data for the entire month of April hasn't been released yet, but in March, reports show that a little over 754,500 tourists paid a visit to Macau. This puts the daily visitor average for that month at approximately 24,300 tourists
China has gradually been lifting travel restrictions to the mainland and SAR. Similarly, initially placed gaming limitations for Macau casinos continue to be progressively relaxed. As a result, business in Macau is edging closer to pre-pandemic normalcy, and in some cases, it is already booming as patrons are rushing to the region to quench their pent-up thirst. For instance, according to a recent account by Bloomberg, Qunar.com, a Chinese travel portal, is currently receiving 17% more Macau hotel room bookings compared to the same period in 2019.
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