Macau’s gross gaming revenues rose 31 percent year-on-year in 2008 to a new record of 108.76 billion patacas (USD13.62 billion) up from 83.02 billion patacas in 2007, according to preliminary figures reported in the local media on Monday.
But the trend in the final four months of the year was down. Commentators have generally blamed this on visa restrictions imposed by China on its own citizens and by a global credit crunch that has filtered down to the credit extended to Macau’s VIP players, who provide around 70 percent of the territory’s gaming income. If the bullish trend of the first eight months of the year had been maintained, Macau would have been on course for 50 percent plus revenue growth year-on-year.
Income for December was 7.6 billion patacas (USD962 million), a fall of 7 percent year-on-year. The slowdown began in September last year; with a 3.5 percent fall year-on-year.
The year-on-year growth rate in monthly revenues plunged to minus 2.1 percent on average in the last four months from 51.6 percent during the first eight months. The lack of new casino openings in the second half of 2008 compared to the second half of 2007, when The Venetian Macao and the MGM Grand Macau made they debuts, may also have been a factor.
The latest statistics also showed there are a total of 4,312 gaming tables and 12,835 slot machines in Macau’s 31 casinos, 19 of which are run by Stanley Ho’s operating company SJM.
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