Macau’s daily gross gaming revenue fell for the third week in a row to around MOP$100 million (US$12.4 million) in the seven days from 14 to 20 March as China’s COVID-19 outbreak continues to impact travel.
According to weekly channel checks from brokerage Bernstein, the daily GGR figure was 13% lower than the previous week and the lowest since the Zhuhai COVID outbreak in January. It also places month to date GGR at around MOP$2.6 billion (US$325 million) with an ADR (average daily revenue) of MOP$130 million (US$16 million) – down 51% on March 2021 and 84% lower than in March 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bernstein’s Vitaly Umansky estimates that VIP ADR through the first 20 days of March is 60% lower than in February with slightly below normal hold, while mass is down around 55%.
There was, Umansky notes, a slight improvement in travel in and out of Macau during the week from 10 to 16 March – from 31,200 the week prior to 41,500 – although Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center has since tightened border restrictions with Zhuhai by cutting the validity period of negative COVID-19 test results to just 24 hours.
“Despite the slight rebound in visitation, we do not expect travel control policy to ease in any near future,” Umansky said. “Any COVID outbreaks in Zhuhai and/or Macau could force the border to close (or severely restrict passage) as well.”
China’s COVID outbreaks, he added, “will cap Macau’s visitation and GGR for the rest of March and into April (and potentially into May).”
The brokerage has maintained its previous estimate for March GGR which it expects to be down 54% on February 2022 and 86% on March 2019.
