The Macau government collected just under MOP14.80 billion (US$1.84 billion) in fiscal revenue from taxes on gaming in the first two months of 2024, according to the latest data released on Friday by the city’s Financial Services Bureau.
So far this year the aggregate take from such tax was up 142.9 percent compared with the prior-year period.
In February alone this year, the government collected approximately MOP7.46 billion in revenue from gaming taxes, up 1.6 percent month-on-month.
Under Macau’s 10-year gaming concession system that came into effect on January 1 last year, the effective tax on casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) is 40 percent.
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.
According to the government’s 2024 budget plan, gaming tax revenue is anticipated to reach nearly MOP83.61 billion this year.
In full-year 2023, the Macau authorities collected MOP65.26 billion in revenue from gaming tax, achieving a 28.3-percent surplus in gaming tax revenue budgeted for last year.
