According to unaudited numbers quoted by industry analysts CLSA Limited, Macau casino gambling revenue for the first two weeks of May 2010 has probably increased by 90 percent to 9 billion patacas ($1.12 billion) from a year earlier.
Revenue growth for casinos in the only Chinese region where they are legal is “accelerating rather than slowing down because of the ‘tightening’ in China,” CLSA analyst Aaron Fischer said in a note to clients this week.
Compared with the first two weeks of April 2010, gambling revenue in Macau increased by 40 percent, says Fischer.
“It looks like some of the casino operators are significantly increasing their working capital,” or the amount lent to junket operators, who are paid commissions to bring in high rollers, the analyst said.
The city’s casino gambling revenue in April rose about 70 percent from a year earlier to more than 14.1 billion patacas . Macau gambling revenue was up 57 percent in the first quarter of this year to about 41 billion patacas, local government confirmed.