• About Us
  • The Team
  • Advertise with Us

The latest news on the gaming industry in Asia

() () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () ()
  • Home
  • Macau
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Japan
  • Rest of Asia
  • World
  • Industry Talk
  • Trends & Tech
  • iGaming
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • RSS Feed
    • LinkedIn

Macau casino GGR up 4.4pct in festive February: govt

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


Macau casino GGR up 4.4pct in festive February: govt

Casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau rose by 4.4 percent year-on-year in February, to MOP25.37 billion (US$3.14 billion), according to data from the city’s regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, released on Friday.

The latest monthly result puts the market’s accumulated 2019 year-on-year decline at 0.5 percent, or MOP50.31 billion. January casino GGR registered the first year-on-year monthly decline since 2016.

“On a combined basis, January/February 2019 was flat year-on-year,” wrote analysts Vitaly Umansky, Eunice Lee and Kelsey Zhu of brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. “The January/February 2018 period saw year-on-year growth of 20 percent setting up a difficult year-on-year comparison,” the noted in a Friday note.

February included the Chinese New Year holiday, which typically sees a spike in visitor numbers and in GGR.

Grant Govertsen, an analyst at Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd, said in a Friday note: “The timing of Chinese New Year (CNY) should have, in theory, benefited this year. Based on our on-the-ground observations, and given robust foot traffic trends, it appears that mass market came through for operators and growth of this segment likely remains in the low double digits.”

Visitor arrivals to Macau during the Chinese New Year holiday period increased by 26.6 percent from a year earlier, passing the one-million mark for the first time.

Preliminary figures reported by the Macao Government Tourism Office show Macau recorded 1.21 million visitor arrivals between February 4 and February 10, the seven days of the Chinese New Year holiday period.

The week-long holiday period is usually a peak season for Macau’s gaming industry as hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese tourists take advantage of the week-long break to visit the city.

Investment analysts however have noted in previous commentary on Macau that there need not be a direct correlation between numbers of tourists to Macau and gaming spend in casinos. This is because research indicates that high-stakes play by a relatively small number of visitors is still an important component of the market.

Union Gaming’s Mr Govertsen said in his Friday memo: “VIP likely dipped into negative territory on a market-wide basis, although certainly mixed at the operator level. On a GGR/day basis, February was MOP906 million … or the highest level since the fall of 2014.”

Top executives at Macau casino operators have provided some bullish commentary on performance during last month’s festive holiday period.

Grant Bowie, chief executive of MGM China Holdings Ltd, said on a conference call with analysts last month that the Chinese New Year holiday period had been “solid” for the company. Mr Bowie said however that despite the strong traffic during the holiday period, he did not expect “significant spikes” in GGR.

(Updated at 2.23pm, March 1)


  • tweet
Related articles
  • APE narrows annual loss as revenue up 38pct
    APE narrows annual loss as revenue up...

    Mar 28, 2023  

  • Macau GGR for March 1 to 19 at US$845mln: JP Morgan
    Macau GGR for March 1 to 19 at...

    Mar 20, 2023  

More news
  • Pagcor chairman keynote speech at SiGMA Asia
    Pagcor chairman keynote speech at SiGMA...

    Mar 28, 2023  

  • 3-month eVisa plan to boost Vietnam tourism: report
    3-month eVisa plan to boost Vietnam...

    Mar 28, 2023  


Latest News

Pagcor chairman keynote speech at SiGMA Asia

Pagcor chairman keynote speech at SiGMA Asia

Mar 28, 2023  

Alejandro Tengco (pictured), chairman and chief executive of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), is to give the keynote speech for the opening of the SiGMA Asia conference for the...
Read More
3-month eVisa plan to boost Vietnam tourism: report

3-month eVisa plan to boost Vietnam tourism: report

Mar 28, 2023  

Kangwon Land slot brand Manila office eyes SE Asia sales

Kangwon Land slot brand Manila office eyes SE Asia sales

Mar 28, 2023  

Sign up to our FREE Newsletter

UB8V5.qr.16(Click here for more)

Pick of the Day

”The data and evidence on hand all point to the same conclusion: enough is enough. It is time to ban offshore gaming operations in the Philippines, once and for all”

Sherwin Gatchalian

Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the Senate of the Philippines



Most Popular

  • Raffles hotel checks complete at Galaxy Phase 3: MGTORaffles hotel checks complete at Galaxy Phase 3: MGTO March 27, 2023
  • Melco’s Studio City has foreigner-only bet zone: checksMelco’s Studio City has foreigner-only bet zone: checks March 27, 2023
  • Foreigners can use HK-Macau free ticket says tourism bossForeigners can use HK-Macau free ticket says tourism boss March 27, 2023
  • Philippine lawmaker wants POGOs shut within 3 monthsPhilippine lawmaker wants POGOs shut within 3 months March 27, 2023
  • Macau diversification into non-gaming to remain slow: FitchMacau diversification into non-gaming to remain slow: Fitch March 24, 2023
Copyright 2014-2023 TEAM Publishing and Consultancy Ltd / All rights reserved
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Useful Links
  • Contact Us