Macau Casinos Win $2.6B From Players in October, Best Month Since January 2020
Macau casinos earned more revenue in October than in any month since January 2020.
On Friday, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of Macau released the gross gaming revenue (GGR) figures for October, indicating that the six casino concessionaires earned MOP20.78 (US$2.59 billion) in the previous month. October recorded a 6.6% rise compared to the previous year and a 20% jump from September.
October enjoyed a robust National Day, China's week-long holiday starting on October 1 annually to commemorate Mao Zedong's founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Attendance during the weeklong celebration recovered, with daily border crossings averaging near 142K. The traffic surpassed visitation levels from before the pandemic.
Casinos profited from an increase in visitors, resulting in October surpassing May's GGR total of $2.52 billion, which was the highest gaming month for the resorts in 2024. October 2024 marked the best month since January 2020 as well.
As of October, casino revenue reached $23.74 billion, which is an increase of more than 28%, or $5.21 billion, compared to the same ten months last year. However, even with the gaming recovery in 2024, the total from January to October was still 23% lower than during the same timeframe in 2019.
Investors Becoming Fatigued
Investor sentiment towards the six publicly listed casino firms in Macau remains muted almost five years after the coronavirus outbreak.
China's adherence to Xi Jinping's "zero-COVID" policy until the end of 2022 stymied a post-pandemic resurgence in Macau. Beijing’s order to Macau to clamp down on money laundering and capital flight — both aimed at Macau’s junket sector — has further hindered a gaming recovery since the end of zero-COVID in December 2022.
Adding financial pressure to the six operators is their obligation to invest tens of billions of dollars into their resorts in return for new 10-year gaming licenses that extend until 2032. Sands, Galaxy, Wynn, MGM, Melco, and SJM consented to designate nearly $16.2 billion for nongaming initiatives throughout the duration of the concessions.
The nongaming directive aims to reduce Macau's economic dependence on casino gambling and convert the Chinese enclave into a top location for leisure tourists, families, and nongaming enterprises.
Investors, nonetheless, stay cautious regarding the casinos’ future. Macau casino stocks dropped 11.4% in October, whereas the benchmark Hang Seng Index fell by under 4%.
Market Challenges
October was a crucial month for the casinos in Macau and their shareholders. Friday trading observed an increase in Macau casino stock values.
As we move forward, worries persist for the six major casino operators. A major concern is China’s recent directive for Macau police to focus on unlicensed money exchanges that have long been active in the resort areas.
These exchanges enabled high rollers from the mainland to transfer funds to the exchanges and retrieve their cash once they entered the casino enclave. The unregulated exchanges, in contrast to banks and other legitimate financial entities, had assisted mainland high rollers in evading Beijing's stringent capital flight restrictions.
As unlicensed money transfers are now illegal, VIPs and high-stakes players will face increased difficulty in moving substantial sums of money to the tax haven of Macau.
Visitors to Macau are restricted to bringing $15,000 in cash. Those with an amount greater than that must utilize the entry port’s “Red Channel” processing system.
The Red Channel requires travelers to spend significantly more time finishing the customs process than the Green Channel, where travelers have no items to declare. Travelers passing through the Red Channel risk having their cash and/or belongings seized unless they can provide a legitimate explanation for bringing the assets, or CBNIs — Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments.
