Casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau rose 5.0 percent year-on-year in May, to just above MOP21.19 billion (US$2.62 billion), showed data released on Sunday by the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
The latest monthly tally was up 12.4 percent compared to April’s MOP18.86 billion. The May result was the highest monthly tally pos-Covid, according to official data.
The May result took the aggregate GGR so far this year to nearly MOP97.71 billion, 1.7-percent higher than in the prior-year period.
Several brokerages had mentioned “strong gaming demand” at the time of the five-day mainland China holiday, which encompassed Labour Day on May 1.
Macau’s authorities said the daily average for arrivals during the break – which ran from May 1 to May 5 inclusive – topped 170,000. That resulted in more than 850,000 arrivals in aggregate across the holiday season.
The daily run-rate of Macau’s casino GGR during the holidays – a period also known as “May Golden Week” – was estimated at MOP1.02 billion by JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd in a memo issued on May 6, citing its channel checks.
On May 26, banking institution Citigroup raised its forecast for May GGR from MOP21 billion to MOP21.25 billion. It said GGR performance in the prior seven days had been a “pleasant surprise”, in likelihood supported by the opening of the Capella at Galaxy Macau.
The Capella at Galaxy Macau hotel had a soft launch in early May, according to its promoter, Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd.
