Macau Gaming Revenue Misses Estimate as Xi Visit Deters Bettors

Macau: So, here’s the scoop. Macau’s gaming revenue took a hit in December, dropping 2%. Analysts were expecting it to go up, but that didn’t happen. The total revenue for the month was about 18.2 billion patacas, which is around $2.3 billion. That’s still a far cry from what it was before the pandemic.

During President Xi Jinping’s visit, which was his first since 2019, security checks were super tight. This made a lot of regular gamblers and big spenders from China think twice about hitting the casinos. Xi also talked about how Macau needs to diversify its economy, which is something the city has been hearing from Beijing for a while now.

The VIP gambling scene has really taken a beating lately. Before COVID, it was a huge part of Macau’s income, but now it’s struggling. Casinos are trying to attract more regular tourists by hosting events and conferences to make up for the loss. Analysts are hopeful that next year, gaming revenue could bounce back to about 82% of what it was before the pandemic, but the VIP sector might still be down significantly.