The Macau government said on Thursday it estimated the city’s 2022 casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) will be MOP130 billion (US$16.2 billion), under half the MOP292.5 billion Macau achieved in full-year 2019, prior to the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The city was likely to experience “great uncertainty” in macroeconomic conditions and would continue to face a fiscal deficit, added the statement on the fiscal budget plan for next year.
“As the impact of the novel coronavirus… continues, the economic conditions for the Macau SAR are expected to remain challenging in 2022 and a recovery from it will take time. The casino gross gaming revenue for next year is forecast as MOP130 billion,” the government stated.
In the budget plan, the government estimated gaming tax income – the biggest source of the city’s fiscal income – to reach MOP45.5 billion in 2022.
The government also remarked in the document that it would resort to the city’s accumulated fiscal reserves to support expenditure on social welfare and public infrastructure projects for 2022. This was on the basis that the city would in likelihood suffer a fiscal deficit relative to its income compared to its public policy commitments.
