Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported citywide gross gaming revenue of MOP$3.90 billion (US$481.6 million) in October, down 10.7% year-on-year.
The October results was aided by the National Day Golden Week holiday, which saw an average of 26,040 visitor arrivals each day – exceeding most expectations. Investment bank JP Morgan estimated that mass market GGR returned to between 30% and 35% of 2019 levels during Golden Week.
According to the DICJ’s figures, the October result was 31.4% higher than September, when GGR was MOP$2.96 billion (US$365.5 million) but 85.3% lower than October 2019 when Macau recorded GGR of MOP$26.44 billion (US$3.27 billion).
For the first 10 months of 2022 combined, Macau’s GGR was MOP$35.7 billion (US$4.41 billion), down 50.5% on 2021.
It is hoped that November could signal the start of a recovery for Macau’s gaming operators after China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced that the smart visa facility for eVisas and package tours will be reopened to all of mainland China from today, allowing mainland residents to use the facility to apply for group and individual travel to Macau.
However, it also comes at a time when Macau is on the brink of another COVID-19 outbreak, with more than half a dozen cases confirmed over the past few days and a number of areas classified as “red zones”.
As reported by IAG, MGM Cotai was locked down on Saturday after a dealer and her two sons tested positive.
