Macau’s gross gaming revenues fell by 93.2% year-on-year to MOP$1.76 billion (US$220.4 million) in May, according to data released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
The result represents the second consecutive month in which GGR has plummeted by more than 90%, with April having previously recorded a 96.8% decline. Macau’s dire gaming revenues come after Guangdong Province introduced mandatory 14-day quarantine for all arrivals from Macau, including local Guangdong residents, in late March, driving down visitation into the SAR.
Credit Suisse analysts Kenneth Fong, Lok Kan Chan and Rebecca Law estimated VIP revenue fell by around 90% in May, aided by good luck towards the end of the month, while mass GGR fell by around 97%.
“Looking ahead, once the border reopens, we believe that VIP business should see pent-up demand to lead the recovery back to 50% pre-virus level and likely to reach close to 100% level in summer time,” they added. “On the other hand, we believe mass GGR recovery could be gradually back to 70% to 80% level by the summer holidays as China may reopen IVS visas in phases.”
For the first five months of 2020, Macau’s GGR is down 73.7% year-on-year to MOP$33.0 billion compared with MOP$125.70 billion over the same period in 2019.