Macau Casinos Win $2.3B in April, 26 Percent Increase on 2023
Macau casinos announced gross gaming revenue (GGR) of MOP18.55 billion (US$2.3 billion) in April 2024, reflecting a 26% increase compared to the previous year.
The six casino operators in the Chinese gaming enclave — Sands, Galaxy, MGM, Wynn, SJM, and Melco — experienced improved play starting April 2023, yet April still showed a 5% decline in GGR compared to March, which had a gaming win of $2.42 billion.
Gaming analysts anticipated the decline in April compared to March. The month was “consistent with historical seasonality,” noted brokerage Citigroup.
The Citigroup team noted that although revenue in April decreased, on-the-ground observations of the casino floors during that month indicated “resilient” activity from the “premium mass” segment — gamblers who are not VIPs but wager more than typical players.
The $2.3 billion earned last month constitutes roughly 79% of the April 2019 GGR produced by those same six casino concessionaires.
Continuing Recovery
In the first four months of 2024, GGR in the world’s most affluent gaming market — a title Macau reclaimed from Nevada after Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded his “zero-COVID” initiative in late 2022 — is around $9.41 billion. The total from January to April is 54% higher than last year and represents 76% of the GGR earned in the same four-month period of 2019.
Experts concentrating on the Macau gaming sector indicate that the initial quarter of the year demonstrates the market is leveling out, a promising signal for the six major casinos. While gaming revenue steadily approaches pre-pandemic levels, the costs for gaming companies have surged significantly due to their non-gaming investment obligations made to the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government in December 2022 in return for 10-year license renewals.
Aiming to broaden its economy beyond gaming, Macau offered new tenders to the six companies in late 2022. The casino operators consented to jointly invest $13.5 billion in non-gaming projects at their resorts throughout the 10-year extension.
The figure for nongaming investments increased to almost $18 billion following last year's GGR, which led to a rise of nearly $4.5 billion.
Market Perspective
May is expected to experience a month-over-month GGR increase, starting with the Chinese Labor Day holiday. The festive season extends from today, May 1, to Sunday, May 5.
The majority of workers on the mainland receive the week off, and numerous individuals choose a short trip, with Macau being a popular destination for those living in the Pearl River Delta. The region is regarded as one of the most affluent areas in China.
The capital markets advisory firm CLSA has recently revised its full-year 2024 forecast for Macau GGR upward by 3.5% to approximately $30.3 billion. Analysts pointed to visitation trends that exceeded expectations.
This week, Chinese news agency Xinhua announced that the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge handled a record 3.26 million vehicles last year, averaging over 8,900 vehicles crossing daily.
Should the CLSA figure be achieved, the Macau casino sector would reach 83% of the 2019 gaming revenue, which amounted to $36.5 billion.
