Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) amounted to MOP19.3 billion ($2.4 billion) in the first month of 2024, 77 percent of the MOP24.9 billion ($3 billion) reported in January of 2019, before the pandemic.
According to data released by the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), the January tally marked a 67 percent increase from the same month of the previous year.
The result also reflects a 4 percent increase from December’s MOP18.5 billion ($2.3 billion). Only one month in 2023 surpassed the results of January, 2024: October – which included the National Day holiday week – MOP19.5 billion ($2.4 billion).
For the whole of 2023, Macau’s casino GGR reached MOP183.05 billion ($22.68 billion), indicating a 333.8 percent surge compared to the same period the previous year.
Morgan Stanley forecasts that Macau’s mass market gross gaming revenue will surpass 120 percent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024, potentially leading to EBITDA figures reaching (or slightly exceeding) 2019 levels.
The year of 2023 marked a resurgence for Macau, stepping out of the shroud of the pandemic and the related regulations which effectively shuttered the city for three years.
It also marked the first year of the six concessionaires’ new gaming licenses, with the operators adapting to the new environment which has shunned junkets, shifted to a mass market model and aims to attract more foreign punters.
The results have surpassed the Macau government’s expectations, with the SAR’s Chief Executive in December noting his expectation for MOP180 billion ($22.4 billion) in GGR, some MOP50 billion ($6.22 billion) more than the government had previously expected.
Under the new gaming licenses, if Macau’s annual GGR reaches or surpasses MOP180 billion (which it has already), the six concessionaires are obliged to increase their MOP109 billion ($13.48 billion) non-gaming spending by up to 20 percent. However, the SAR’s Chief Executive has been reticent about disclosing the exact requirements of the operators once the threshold is passed.
