Macau Casino Revenue Soars 22% in October

Macau’s casino market not only exceeded analyst growth expectations of between 13-18% in October, but it also soared by an impressive 22% compared to the same month last year. Furthermore, the $3.3 billion that the casinos generated in October also represents a three-year high for the world’s biggest casino hub.
Based upon the latest results released by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, China’s only legal gambling resort has now recorded 15 consecutive months of year-on-year growth.
Helping to provide Macau’s casino market with a boost in October was a week-long national holiday, a Communist Party conference, as well as an influx of VIP gamblers and recreational players to the island. Overall, visitor numbers were up by 11% year-over-year, despite the national holiday initially getting off to a slow start, and commenting upon the hugely positive month, Ben Lee from IGamiX, stated:
“The final week of October indicated that the VIP and premium mass segments both benefited from strong demand. The absence of any telegraphing of intentions to further crack down on gaming has probably alleviated the anxiety of Chinese VIPs in relation to gaming activities.”
Following the announcement of October’s results, Macau casino stocks saw an increase in their prices, with Wynn Macau Ltd, MGM China Holdings Ltd, and Sands China Ltd up by a little over 4%, and Galaxy Entertainment Group up by 3.5%.
SJM Holdings Ltd, on the other hand, fared rather less well, with its stock prices up by just 0.6% after reporting a 16.5% drop in its third-quarter net profit to $54.8 million. For Q3 so far, SJM Holdings Ltd has seen its mass market gaming revenue contract by 4.6%, and its slot machines by 7.7% compared to the same period of time a year earlier. Also hindering the operator’s bottom line is the fact it does not have a casino presence in the opulent Macau’s Cotai strip, and is not expected to open its Grand Lisboa Palace there until 2019.
Looking ahead, Macau’s casino market is expected to receive another boost in 2018 when the HK-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge opens, with the 34 miles link expected to cost $15.9 billion upon competition.