The Macau government collected in May just above MOP5.70 billion (US$706.4 million) in fiscal revenue from taxes on gaming, according to the latest available data, released on Monday by the city’s Financial Services Bureau. The latest monthly tally was up 15.2 percent from April.
In the five months to May 31, the government collected just below MOP20.77 billion in fiscal revenue from taxes on gaming, up 83.6 percent from the prior-year period.
Under Macau’s new, 10-year gaming concession system that came into effect on January 1, the effective tax on casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) is 40 percent.
Macau recorded casino GGR of MOP15.57 billion in May, up 5.7 percent from MOP14.72 billion in April. GGR rose sequentially for the third consecutive month.
Casino GGR stood at MOP64.93 billion in the first five months of 2023, an increase of 172.9 percent from a year earlier.
The tax-take figures in a given calendar period and the city’s casino GGR in such a time frame are not directly comparable for a number of reasons. They include the fact that there is typically a delay between the point where GGR is recorded in Macau casino operations and the point at which tax is registered by the Macau government as having been paid on such play.
The Macau government has previously said it estimates the city’s 2023 casino GGR will be MOP130 billion.
According to the government’s budget plan, revenue from gaming taxes should reach just above MOP50.85 billion this year. The take for the first five months of the year represents 40.8 percent of that figure.
