Macau Gambling Revenue Up 42% In November 2010

Macau’s casinos revenue surged by an impressive 42% in November to US$2.2 billion compared to $1.53 billion a year earlier, to lodge its second-strongest month.
Last month, Macau’s casinos set a record monthly high after recording a 49.8% rise in monthly revenue to US$2.36 billion. Despite November being 8.1% below October’s figure, they are, however, in line with expectations, with Wells Fargo analyst Carlo Santarelli’s commenting:
““We note that the sequential slowdown from October to November is in line with the average sequential dip experienced in 2008 and 2009.”
According to Portuguese news source ‘Lusa’, Macau has now experienced a 56.5% increase in its gaming revenue for the first 11 months of the year to reach MOP169.1 billion (US21.14 billion).
If Macau’s gaming revenue then reaches the predicted MOP185 billion (US23.13) mark by the end of 2010, then it will represent a significant increase from the MOP120 billion (US$15 billion) taken in 2009.
The resort currently has six main companies running Macau’s 34 top class casinos with their market share divided up roughly as follows:
SJM 32.3%; Las Vegas Sands 18.6; Wynn Resorts 13.5%; Melco Crown Entertainment 14%; Galaxy 10.1%; and 10.5% for others including MGM Resorts.
The strong revenue figures coming from these popular gaming resorts indicates sustained growth in Macau’s gambling market. However, the government is wary of just promoting the enclave as a gambling resort and has been taking major strides to enhance Macau’s reputation for family holidays and entertainment.
Gaming expert Desmond Lam at the University of Macau highlights this point when he commented:
“We want people to come, enjoy their time here, return to their homes and still want to come back to Macau. We don’t want a one-off bang, where people come, gamble really big, make big mistakes, go back to be chased by loan-sharks or take money from the Government…this affects the sustainability of the Macau model”.