Macau recorded a surplus of 13.6 billion patacas (1.45 billion euros) between January and March, according to data published online by the Financial Services Bureau (DSF).
In the budget for the full year 2026, the government had projected a much smaller surplus of 5.22 billion patacas (553.7 million euros). Macau ended 2025 with a public budget surplus of 19.9 billion patacas (2.09 billion euros), 26.1% higher than the previous year.
The surplus benefited from a 13.5% increase in current revenue, to 28.7 billion patacas (3.05 billion euros). The main reason for the increase was a 15.9% rise, to 25.8 billion patacas (2.74 billion euros), in gaming tax revenues – which accounted for 88.8% of the total.
The city’s six gaming operators pay a direct tax of 35% on gaming revenue, with 2.4% allocated to the Macao Social Security Fund and for urban and tourism development, and 1.6% contributed to the Macao Foundation for cultural, educational, scientific, academic, and philanthropic purposes.
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Total revenue from Macau’s casinos reached 65.9 billion patacas (7.45 billion euros) in the first quarter, up 14.3% from the same period in 2025. On the other hand, public spending in the region fell 3.3% between January and March, to 15.4 billion patacas (1.63 billion euros), despite an increase in social assistance.
Spending on social assistance and subsidies grew by 6.8% compared to the first quarter of 2025, reaching 7.63 billion patacas (809.5 million euros).
The budget approved in November includes tax incentives to attract investment fund management companies, special investment funds, and fund investors, to help develop the financial sector.
In addition, the government exempted residents from stamp duty on the purchase of their first home, up to six million patacas (636,000 euros), in a document that projected a 4.3% increase in social assistance and subsidies.
In July, Macau’s legislature had already approved a government proposal to increase the projected expenditures in the 2025 budget by 2.86 billion patacas (303.4 million euros) to bolster social support. The revision includes the creation of a subsidy totaling 54,000 patacas (about 5,730 euros) for children up to three years old, in an effort to boost the world’s lowest birth rate.
However, spending fell mainly due to a 17.7% cut in public works spending – the Government’s Investment and Expenditure Plan (PIDDA) – to 3.72 billion patacas (394.5 million euros).
