Macau October decline within analyst expectations

Analysts predicted that the decline in Macau’s gambling revenue figures for October 2015 would be within the range 26 to 29 percent, and they were proved reasonably accurate on Sunday when the official numbers were released, showing that the year-on-year decline was actually 28.4 percent.

The Reuters news agency reported that the decline was the seventeenth consecutive fall in monthly revenues, with total revenue of 20.06 billion patacas (US$2.51 billion), lower when compared to October 2014’s 28.03 billion patacas, but higher than the 17.13 billion patacas of September 2015.

VIP gamblers, who account for about half of revenue, have been staying away from Macau, deterred by a campaign by China’s central government against conspicuous spending by public officials, which in turn is part of a wider investigation into unauthorised outflows of money from the mainland.

The month of October included China’s National Day holiday, and the opening of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd’s $3.2 billion Studio City resort.