Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) plummeted 87.8% year-on-year to MOP$3.10 billion in February, with the 15-day closure of all casinos and tightened border restrictions due to the coronavirus severely limiting visitation.
The massive decline didn’t come as any great surprise, with Macau’s main gaming floors largely empty since casinos re-opened on 20 February after China put a halt to all group travel outside its borders and stopped issuing Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) visas. IVS travelers accounted for 46.8% of mainland China’s 27.9 million visitor entries to Macau in 2019.
February’s numbers brought Macau’s two-month GGR total to just MOP$25.23 billion in 2020, down 49.9% year-on-year, with analysts tipping a similar decline of around 80% through March.
Both Melco Resorts & Entertainment and Galaxy Entertainment Group suggested during their most recent earnings calls that Macau’s challenging environment would remain for at least the next four to six months, with Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho stating the SAR will be “very, very quiet for quite a long time.”
