Casino revenue in Macau fell to its lowest level for four years amid a faltering China economy and a graft crackdown which has effected high rollers. There may be some positive news for the stricken gambling region as Chinese travel restrictions look set to be eased.
Gross gaming revenue for Macau during June fell 36.2% to 17.4 billion patacas ($2.2 billion), according to information provided by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. You have to go back to November 2010 to see revenues this low for Macau, when monthly revenue was also at 17.4 billion patacas.
The relaxing of travel visas from mainland China, which has long been considered the main reason for Macau’s casino downturn, is expected to boost revenues in future months. However, 13 months of consecutive drops in revenue are giving investors some serious doubts that this one factor will solve all the issues the region is facing.
The data “was very bad, but at least not worse than feared,” DS Kim, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., wrote today. “Along with visa relaxation, this news should help improve the sentiment on the sector.”
