Macau’s gaming operators recorded gross gaming revenue of MOP$7.82 billion (US$977.5 million) in December, down 65.8% year-on-year but also the highest total since January, according to figures published by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau on Friday.
December’s result represents a 15.9% improvement over November numbers, when GGR reached MOP$6.75 billion (US$845.5 million). It is, however, the 15th consecutive month of year-on-year declines stretching back to October 2019.
Rising revenues through December reflect a recent increase in visitation to Macau during the holiday period, with the Macao Government Tourism Office announcing this week that visitor arrivals had averaged 24,503 per day between 23 to 27 December. The daily average was 20.2% higher than the first 22 days of the month, 15.5% higher than November and 30.5% higher than October arrivals.
With mainland China’s Individual Visit Scheme gradually reinstated from August as the COVID-19 pandemic eased, Macau’s GGR figures began trending upwards from October when GGR increased 229% sequentially to MOP$7.27 billion (US$911 million). Monthly GGR figures had reached their lowest point in June at just MOP$716 million (US$89.6 million), down 97.0% year-on-year.
With December now in the books, Macau’s total gross gaming revenue for 2020 reached a total of MOP$60.44 billion (US$7.56 billion), down 79.3% year-on-year.
