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Macau casino revenues reach highest value since 2020

Gaming revenues in Macau reached 11.58 billion patacas (1.32 billion euros) in January, the highest figure since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, the authorities announced today.

The revenues collected by the casinos represent an increase of 82.5% compared to the 6.34 billion patacas (725 million euros) registered in January last year, according to official data from the Directorate of Inspection and Coordination of Games (DICJ).

Even so, the value for January is 47.7% lower than that reached in January 2020, the month before the Government closed casinos for two weeks due to the first outbreak of infections caused by the new coronavirus.

Concessionaires in Macau have accumulated unprecedented losses since 2020 and the Government has been forced to resort to the extraordinary reserve to respond to the crisis, as around 80% of government revenue comes from taxes on gambling.

Macau, which like mainland China followed the ‘zero covid’ policy, announced, in December, the cancellation of most prevention and containment measures, after almost three years of strict restrictions.

With the easing of the measures, Macau registered 451,000 visitors during the Lunar New Year week, almost triple that of 2022, while the average hotel occupancy rate in this period was 85.7%, with a peak on the third day of the Lunar New Year (January 24) of 92.1%, according to the Directorate of Tourism Office.

The gaming industry accounts for 55.5% of Macao’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 80,000 people, i.e. around 17% of the employed population.

*With Lusa

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