Macau revenue down 9.6 percent in May

Official figures from the Macau government show that once again revenues on the gambling island fell in May 2016, dropping 9.6 percent on a year-on-year basis with analysts noting that the pace of decline appears to have accelerated on a month-on-month basis.

Gambling revenue for May was 18.4 billion patacas (US$2.3 billion), government data released on Wednesday showed, a steeper decline than analysts’ estimates of a 6 percent fall.

The figures represent the twenty-fourth month running in which Macau revenues have slipped, with revenues contracting by more than half over the past two years as the economic slowdown and anti-corruption drives in China took their toll.

The land casino industry on the island, situated off the Chinese mainland, provides 80 percent of government revenues, and the significant decline has impacted the island’s economic growth, with recent statistics showing that the local economy shrank 13 percent in Q1-2016 (see previous reports.

Major casino operators on the island are being encouraged to diversify into the tourism business with their resorts, and future plans for the island include three new mega-resorts, with one incorporating a half size copy of the Eiffel Tower, and another a large man-made lake and mall with a Venice-inspired theme.

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