Macau recorded a 3.5% year-on-year decline in gross gaming revenue to MOP$24.45 billion (US$3.01 billion) in July, the result coming in well below initial predictions due in part to Chinese media reports alleging links between leading junket operator Suncity Group and online gaming.
The result came despite a strong start to July in the mass market segment with JP Morgan analysts estimating mass GGR finished the month rising by 12% to 13% compared with July 2018, negated by an estimated decline of more than 20% in the VIP segment. They also suggest that Macau’s top three junkets all suffered significant falls in rolling chip volume with demand having “deteriorated sharply” as the month went on.
Bernstein’s Vitaly Umansky, Eunice Lee and Kelsey Zhu offered a similar analysis, stating “Demand fell off going into the latter half of the month with some agents and players pulling out on the back of worries over heightened scrutiny overall after the Suncity incident.”
As a result, average daily revenue for July was MOP$789 million, down 1% on June and 6% on May numbers. Macau’s GGR for the first seven months of 2019 now sits at MOP$173.96 billion, down 0.9% year-on-year.
Early estimates for August have GGR staying relatively flat year-on-year.
