Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) was down 52.7 percent month-on-month in March, according to data released on Friday by the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, a body also known as DICJ.
March GGR was MOP3.67 billion (US$454.5 million), versus the nearly MOP7.76 billion achieved in February. The March GGR tally was the lowest since September 2020, near the start of the Covid-19 pandemic alert. That month, the tally had been MOP2.21 billion.
Measured year-on-year, March GGR fell by 55.8 percent on March 2021’s nearly MOP8.31 billion.
Mainland China Covid-19 cases “and the tightened border policy remains to be the main dragger of poor GGR,’ said analyst Vitaly Umansky, of brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd, in a Friday note.
He added: “Many Chinese provinces are still imposing lockdowns and travel restrictions to control Covid outbreaks, and since March 18, travellers crossing the Zhuhai land border must present Covid test certificate [issued] within 24 hours: and not likely to relax soon as Zhuhai is still reporting local cases.”
The March 2022 GGR result takes calendar-year Macau GGR to MOP17.77 billion, down 24.8 percent on the MOP23.64 billion achieved in the first three months of 2021.
(Updated 4.10pm, April 1)
