Macau casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose 0.6 percent year-on-year in September, according to data released on Tuesday by the city’s regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
The body – also known as DICJ – said such GGR was MOP22.08 billion (US$2.73 billion) for the month, compared to MOP21.95 billion in the prior-year period.
September’s result meant that the aggregate of Macau casino GGR for the nine months to September 30 stood at MOP220.30 billion, a contraction of 1.7 percent year-on-year.
In respective notes to investors on September 23, a selection of brokerages had predicted September’s casino GGR would register somewhere between 1 percent year-on-year contraction and 3 percent expansion.
A number of institutions had noted there had been some improvement in demand for VIP play in September after a drop-off during the summer, that several had linked in part to adverse publicity for Macau junket brand Suncity Group in July. But several analysts also suggested – citing channel checks – that demand for mass-market play had been somewhat sluggish up to the third week of September.
Commentators also noted on the upside that September this year offered an easier comparison against September 2018, which had seen the precautionary closure of Macau casino operations for a period slightly greater than 24 hours, due to Typhoon Mangkhut.
