Macau Casino Revenue Climbs 44 Percent in 2021, But Industry Remains Unsettled

Macau casinos fared significantly better inwards 2021 than they did inward 2020, but the world’s richest gaming securities industry noneffervescent has far to move to homecoming to pre-pandemic levels. type A slew of unsettled issues and regulatory matters impersonate considerable threats to such a rebound.

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau — stylized DICJ in Portuguese — relayed this morning time that revenue gaming revenue (GGR) totaled MOP86.86 one million million (US$10.82 billion) inward 2021. The hale represents a 43.7 percent on 2020.

December GGR came inward at $991.5 million, a 1.8 percent year-over-year improvement. 2020 and 2021 pronounced the Macau gaming industry’s II whip revenue years since 2006.

Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

Casino Shares Drop

Macau’s sextuplet licensed commercial casino operators are mark to reckon their concessions expire in June. That, along with the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent trade stoppage on VIP junket groups led past mainland authorities, resulted inwards a mass selloff of Macau casino stocks inward 2021.

Many of those concerns linger as the unexampled year begins.

We believe uncertainness remains regarding the yielding outcomes, as substantially as demand retrieval post-COVID and the secular diminution inwards VIP play, which configuration our conservativist stance,” noted Jefferies analyst St. David Katz.

Two of the ternary US-based Macau gambling casino operators experienced deep percentage reductions last-place year. Las Vegas Sands dropped from $57.95 to a 2021 confining of $37.64 — a deprivation of 35 percent. Wynn Resorts went from $106.90 a percentage to $85, a to a greater extent than 20 percent decline.

Other publically traded Macau gambling casino stocks went the legal injury way, too. Melco Resorts tumbled 43 percent and Galaxy Entertainment missed 33 percent.

MGM Resorts, which isn’t nearly as reliant on Macau, was a rare 2021 victor in the world-wide gaming industry. Shares of the Las Vegas Strip behemoth that operates ii integrated resorts inward Maca saw its gunstock leap 51 percent from $29.70 to $48.88.

2022 Critical Year

The recent exodus of VIP junket groups, which for years kept Macau’s high-limit private gaming rooms bustling, has added unsettlement to the Chinese gaming industry. But i major interest — the licensing expiration — latterly gained some clarity.

Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong said inwards mid-December that the sixer licensees will potential receive young operating permits before their electric current concessions are circle to terminate inwards June.

The new permits will live allotted under revised gaming regulations. More stringent tracking of majuscule from the mainland through Macau casinos is expected, and VIP junkets existence a thing of the past tense is a goodness bet.

Casino reps get verbalized optimism regarding Macau’s next go down of regulatory conditions, despite the likely excretion of junket groups as they’ve long been known.

Macau Chief executive director Ho Iat Seng opined last week that the local government activity expects the VI casinos to revenue around MOP130 one million million ($US16.2 billion) inward gaming revenue next year. That acoustic projection is based on COVID-19 remaining contained.

Morgan Francis Edgar Stanley gaming analysts say that’s potential a fleck ambitious. The financial services unfluctuating said inwards Dec that it expects gambling casino win to tote up around $15 billion this year. 2019 GGR totaled $36.4 billion.