Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV) is expected to receive ‘extraordinary support’ from its parent company, Malaysia's Genting Bhd, according to S&P Global Ratings.

Despite improving its financial outlook, Cambodian gaming operator NagaCorp is not expected to return to pre-COVID levels of gaming operations, rating agency S&P Global Ratings indicates in a recent dispatch.

Melco’s EBITDA expected to surpass pre-COVID levels in 2025: S&P S&P Global Ratings states that Macau gaming operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. is on track for an accelerating recovery path, with its property EBITDA expected to return to 2019 levels by 2025. In a non-ratings commentary, S&P assumes the company's EBITDA will recover to 94 percent of 2019 levels in 2024 and 7 percent higher than 2019 levels in 2025. This compares with about a 75 percent level in the fourth quarter of 2023. "Melco's EBITDA recovery will likely support its deleveraging to close to pre-pandemic levels over the next 12-24 months. Strong trends in Macau's mass gaming market are fueling this recovery," the research team indicates. The ratings agency also points out that higher visitor arrivals and hotel expansion will power mass-market growth in Macau. ‘China’s inclusion of Xi’an and Qingdao in the individual visit scheme from March 6 will likely further boost visitors to Macau.’ S&P Global estimates that Macau's mass gross gaming revenue (GGR) was up 12-13 percent from 2019 levels in the first two months of 2024. This trend is at the higher end of our 5-15 percent growth forecast for 2024, compared with 2019 levels. The company's EBITDA recovery could accelerate in the coming quarters. Solid mass gaming trends and incremental contributions from Studio City Phase 2 will likely support this. During the recent Chinese New Year holiday, the company's mass GGR was up 22 percent from 2019 levels, as the company benefited from Chinese arrivals.

In a recent report titled "ASEAN's Consumer Activity Is Losing Steam," S&P Global Ratings forecasts a gradual slowdown in consumer activity across the ASEAN region in 2024.

S&P Global Ratings expects that Macau’s real GDP will rebound strongly by about 78 percent in 2023 and forecasts growth of another 10 percent in 2024 after a 21 percent contraction in 2022.

Mass market gross gaming revenue reported in the Macau SAR could recover to 85-90 percent of 2019 levels this year, analysts from brokerage S&P Global Ratings estimate.

International Game Technology PLC (IGT) announced that it achieved an improved score for the fourth consecutive year in the 2023 S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), demonstrating strong year-over-year environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment's credit rating has been upgraded by S&P Global from "negative" to "stable" due to the faster-than-expected recovery in Macau.

Genting bid for a Macau gaming license could shift the group's focus to debt-funded growth from deleveraging if it gets the gaming concession, argues S&P Global Ratings.

Las Vegas Sands has seen its credit rating cut to one notch below investment grade, with the outlook remaining negative, due to the slower-than-forecast recovery from Covid.