Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) reached MOP15.6 billion ($1.93 billion) in May, up 5.7 percent from MOP14.72 billion ($1.83 billion) in April.
The May result was the highest monthly GGR figure since January 2020, showing Macau’s gaming industry is maintaining its positive momentum following the removal of most border restrictions on January 8th.
The May tally was up 366 percent from the prior-year period, according to data released on Thursday by the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).
Macau’s casino GGR stood at MOP65 billion ($8.06 billion) for the five months to May 31st, an increase of 173 percent from a year earlier. The tally for the first four months of 2023 already beat the aggregate GGR for last year. In 2022, Macau’s casino GGR fell by 51.4 percent year-on-year, to MOP42.20 billion.
Macau’s GGR scenario has changed drastically since January 8th of this year, after the government canceled most of its travel restrictions, dropping all testing requirements for inbound visitors from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and later for other countries.
Ferry and bus services between Macau and Hong Kong also resumed in January for the first time in almost three years.
At the same time, Macau received over 7.2 million visitors in the first four months of the year. This figure was much higher than the visitor arrivals through the entirety of 2022. Macau only recorded 5.7 million visitors last year, the lowest number of visitor arrivals in 20 years.
