Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) fell 3.8 percent year-on-year to MOP60.22 billion ($7.46 billion) in the third quarter of 2026, as a sharp drop in mass-market baccarat outweighed flat VIP play and strong growth in slot machines.
Quarterly figures published by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) also show casino GGR was down 1.3 percent from the second quarter. The result sits inside the 3 to 5 percent decline HSBC had tracked for the quarter in mid-September.
Mass baccarat drives the decline
Mass baccarat, the city’s largest revenue line, generated MOP33.61 billion in the July to September period. That was down 7.9 percent year-on-year and 4.4 percent quarter-on-quarter, a sequential loss of roughly MOP2.88 billion.
The game’s share of total casino GGR fell to 55.8 percent, from 58.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025.
Taken as a whole, the mass segment, which also includes slots and electronic table products, brought in MOP43.31 billion. That was 5.2 percent lower than a year earlier and accounted for 71.9 percent of the quarter’s casino GGR.
VIP holds steady, slots climb
VIP baccarat revenue edged up 0.1 percent year-on-year to MOP16.91 billion and rose 6.3 percent from the second quarter, lifting its share of GGR to 28.1 percent from 27 percent a year earlier.
The DICJ calculates VIP revenue according to how certain tables inside the integrated resorts are classified. The six concessionaires report on a different basis and usually attribute less of their gaming revenue to VIP, so the bureau’s VIP figures are not directly comparable with operator results.
Slot machines were the standout category. Slot GGR rose 18.8 percent year-on-year to MOP4.09 billion, taking its share of the total to 6.8 percent from 5.5 percent. Live multi-game electronic products moved the other way, falling 8 percent to about MOP1.14 billion.
Outside the casinos, football betting produced gross revenue of MOP152 million, up 21 percent on the previous quarter and the highest single-quarter total since the third quarter of 2018.
Full-year forecast unchanged for now
Gross gaming revenue across all categories reached MOP187.66 billion in the first nine months of the year. To meet the government’s 2026 budget assumption of MOP236 billion ($29.2 billion), the city would need around MOP48 billion in the fourth quarter, well below its recent quarterly run rate.
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai has said the government will keep the forecast in place for now and will review October’s revenue before considering any change.
The quarter ended on a soft note. September GGR fell 1.2 percent year-on-year to MOP18.06 billion ($2.24 billion), the lowest monthly figure of 2026, before Golden Week visitor arrivals passed one million in the first six days of October.
