Macau gambling revenue hit 2-year high last month, shows recovery

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 02, 2017 06:00 am

HONG KONG: Gambling revenue in Macau hit a two-year high last month, recovering steadily from a prolonged anti-corruption drive and slowing economic growth that dragged on the world's biggest casino hub over the past three years.

Analysts have already called a bottom to Macau's gaming industry slump with revenues rising over the past seven months.

New casino resorts have helped drive business by attracting mass gamblers as well as VIP spenders - who had stayed away since Chinese President Xi Jinping rolled out his campaign in 2014 against shows of wealth by public officials.

Last month, Macau raked in a revenue of 23 billion patacas (S$4 billion), up from 19.5 billion patacas a year ago and the highest since January 2015, government data showed yesterday. Results were also buoyed by a higher number of visitors over the Chinese New Year holiday.

Overnight Chinese visits have grown since the start of the year, after the opening of multi-billion dollar casino resorts in the third quarter of last year by Sands China and Wynn Macau.- REUTERS