Macau Casino Revenues Up For 4th Month in November

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has released its latest results for November, revealing that the gambling resort’s casinos generated revenues of $2.348 billion in November, up by an impressive 14.4% compared to the same month in 2015.
Up until the second half of this year, Macau’s gambling industry had been on a severe 26 month losing streak following the Chinese government’s decision to launch an anti-corruption campaign in 2014. September of 2016, however, saw the protracted decline come to an end and since then y-o-y revenues have been increasing every month.
That said, November’s results also marked the first double-digit growth posted by Macau’s resurgent market this year, with the growth reported in the previous months as follows; August (1.1%), September (7.4%), and October (8.8%).
Helping along the recent improvement in the island’s gambling business was the opening of the brand new Parisian casino on September 16, 2016, and looking ahead, Sophie Lin from S&P global ratings commented:
“The opening and ramping up of new casinos, better infrastructure connecting Macau with mainland China, and stabilizing regulations are the major factors that will fuel a rebound in the gaming industry.”
In 2015, Macau’s casino revenues plummeted by 34% compared to the previous year, but this year business is expected to contract by just 3-6%, with December’s revenues forecast to be in the plus 13% to 15% range. Meanwhile, next year’s revenue growth forecasts fall in the 0 to 10% range, although erring on the side of caution is Cameron McKnight from Wells Fargo Securities, with the Senior Analyst warning:
“In our view, recent stabilization and some market growth has been driven by Chinese monetary stimulus and re-inflation of the Chinese housing bubble, influences we think won’t drive prolonged, above-trend growth.”
Despite November’s positive results, casino stocks took a hit after the radio station Teledifusão de Macau recently announced that Macau may introduce a new rule requiring visitors to disclose any cash holding greater than $15,000.