Macau Casinos Record Highest Gaming Revenue in October Since Pandemic

October 2024 saw Macau casinos report a significant rise in gross gaming revenue (GGR), climbing to 20.787 billion patacas ($2.6 billion). The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) released this official data on Friday.

The revenue figure represents the region’s growth and resilience by a remarkable 6.6% surge compared to October 2023 and a 20.4% rise from September’s 17.3 billion patacas ($2.16 billion) gaming revenue. The robust trajectory sets up October as the most lucrative month of 2024, fueled by China’s National Day Golden Week.

Golden Week Boost

China’s Golden Week holiday, which lasted from October 1^st to 7^th, caused a significant surge in tourism and spending in Macau. The DCIJ reported holiday-driven traffic of 993,117 visitors during the period, a 1.9% rise over 2019’s figures. Also, Macau casinos generated an average daily GGR of 1.08 billion patacas ($134 million). Hotel occupancy rates also peaked at 98.5% on October 3^rd and 4^th.

The record-breaking performance of October brought the total GGR for 2024’s first ten months to 190.1 billion patacas ($23.7 billion), a 28.1% leap year-on-year. However, this figure remains 23% below pre-pandemic levels, highlighting Macau’s alignment of casino strategies and recovery efforts.

VIP Baccarat

VIP Baccarat was another noteworthy contributor to Macau’s substantial GGR surge. The game’s total revenue came in at nearly 13.08 billion patacas ($1.64 billion) for Q3 alone. This data accounts for a substantial 23.5% of the total GGR, underscoring the popularity of high-stakes gambling in the region. Macau continues to maintain VIP Baccarat as a significant attraction for elite gamblers to maintain it as a revenue stream in the casino industry.

Positive Future Projections

Moving forward, Macau is expected to maintain revenue growth momentum and likely surpass even the global gambling capital of Las Vegas. China International Capital Corporation (CICC) investment analysts point out a solid start to Q4, thanks to returning high rollers. The experts’ analysis suggests a 4% rise in Q4 revenue year-on-year due to the rising demand from casual and elite gamblers.

CICC noted: “We think the outperformance in the first two weeks of October could indicate resilient demand and the return of premium patrons heading into the rest of the year.”

Tourist authorities in Macau also expect a 17% rise in tourism traffic by the end of 2024. This projection is likely to be actualized with the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) expansion by the Chinese government. This strategic move is anticipated to bolster Macau as a premier gaming and tourism destination.