T
he Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) announced on Sunday that casinos in Macau saw a 228.8% increase in gross gaming revenue (GGR) last month. GGR went from MOP 2.21 billion in September to MOP 7.27 billion (US$910.9 million) in October.
According to DICJ data, last month’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) was the highest since January, when Macau’s over three dozen casinos raked in MOP 22.12 billion.
Macau’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed on 22 January, Macau News reports.
Year-on-year, last month’s gross gaming revenue declined by 72.5 percent – the smallest year-on-year drop since January.
In the first 10 months of the year, the casino sector’s gross gaming revenue fell by 81.4 percent to MOP 45.87 billion.
Analysts have attributed last month’s strong increase to the central government’s decision to reactivate as of 23 September its individual visit scheme (IVS) allowing mainland tourists to travel to Macau again. The scheme had been suspended early this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the DICJ website, Macau had 41 casinos owned by six gaming operators (SJM, Galaxy, Venetian, Wynn, MGM and Melco Crown) at the end of September. Four of SJM casinos’ operations were suspended at that time.
According to Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) data, the gaming industry had 57,459 full-time employees at the end of June, or 14.1 per cent of Macau’s total workforce of 406,500 at that time.
Gaming sector employees’ earnings averaged MOP 23,200 in June, the bureau said.
