Macau casino GGR down 8pct in April: govt

May 01, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau fell by 8.3 percent year-on-year in April, to approximately MOP23.59 billion (US$2.92 billion), according to data from the city’s regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, released on Wednesday.

It meant the Macau market’s GGR tally for the first four months of 2019 stood at nearly MOP99.74 billion, a year-on-year contraction of 2.4 percent.

Nomura Instinet LLC said a fortnight ago it expected Macau’s GGR for April to be 3 percent to 8 percent less than a year ago, when revenue exceeded MOP25.7 billion. The Japanese brokerage said at the time it expected positive growth to resume once Macau “laps the tough +28 percent comp in April”.

Several of Macau’s five-star casino resorts – most of them in Cotai – have seen strong advance hotel bookings for the upcoming Labour Day festive period, according to information GGRAsia collated from the respective official booking websites of major properties. Management of MGM China Holdings Ltd said on Monday that it was expecting “very strong” demand for its MGM Cotai casino resort during the upcoming holiday break.

Mainland Chinese citizens are likely to be able to enjoy at minimum four consecutive days of recreation during the Labour Day holiday, i.e., during the period Wednesday, May 1, to Saturday, May 4, inclusive, which is prescribed as an official festive period by China’s State Council. A significant part of Mainland Chinese citizens is likely to be able to enjoy a fifth consecutive day of recreation, as May 5 is a Sunday.

Mainland China is the most significant feeder market for the city. According to Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Macau could see a “20 percent” year-on-year increase in visitor arrivals for the public holiday period surrounding the upcoming Labour Day holiday.

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