Macau’s gaming sector maintained strong momentum in August, with casino revenue rising 12 percent year-on-year in line with expectations, though analysts at CreditSights flagged a decline in visitor spending that could temper growth ahead.
Gross gaming revenue reached MOP22.2 billion ($2.8 billion) in August, according to official data cited by the research firm. The figure marked the city’s best post-pandemic recovery rate so far, at 91 percent of August 2019 levels.
For the first eight months of the year, revenue was up 7 percent to MOP163.1 billion ($20.5 billion), leaving the industry slightly ahead of pace to meet the government’s MOP228 billion ($28.7 billion) full-year target.
Tourist arrivals surged to a record 4.2 million in August, up 16 percent from a year earlier, boosted by major entertainment events including the Tencent Music Entertainment Awards and TMElive International Music Awards.
Mainland Chinese visitors, who made up more than three-quarters of arrivals, rose 18 percent to 3.3 million, while international tourists climbed at the same pace, led by Thailand, Japan and Indonesia.
But CreditSights noted that gaming revenue per visitor slipped 3 percent year-on-year to MOP5,251 ($662), as the influx of concertgoers and festival attendees – often younger, mass-market travelers – spent less on gambling.
For January to August, the figure averaged MOP6,062 ($764), down 7 percent from last year.
‘While Macau continues to post healthy revenue growth, the decline in per-capita spending highlights the risk of overreliance on event-driven tourism rather than core gaming demand’, the analysts wrote.
CreditSights said the results underscored a shift in Macau’s recovery dynamics, with headline revenue growth driven more by volumes than by big-spending VIP gamblers, a trend that may shape the city’s outlook through the rest of 2025.
