Macau casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose by 29.2 percent sequentially in July, to about MOP8.44 billion (US$1.06 billion), compared to MOP6.54 billion in June.
Judged year-on-year, July GGR was up 528.1 percent, according to data issued on Sunday by the city’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, a body also known as DICJ.
GGR in June had been impacted by tighter countermeasures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Macau, coinciding with new cases in neighbouring Guangdong province, the largest-single feeder market currently for Macau’s tourists. The upped restrictions led to a decline in June in inbound travel to Macau from mainland China.
The measures were gradually eased between the second half of June and early July.
Aggregate casino GGR in the first seven months of 2021 stood at MOP57.47 billion, an increase of 63.9 percent on the MOP35.06 billion achieved in the prior-year period.
Travel restrictions between Macau and mainland China have however been increased in late July, due to fresh Covid-19 infections on the mainland. With effect from the stroke of midnight on Saturday (July 31), people intending to enter Macau on a direct flight from mainland China must hold a nucleic acid test certificate issued within 48 hours proving they are ‘negative’ for Covid-19 infection.
