The gaming industry of Macau raked in a total gross revenue of approximately MOP6.65 billion (US$824.5 million) spurred by the national Golden Week festival during the initial eight days of October. Daily, Macau casinos and mass-market operators received a robust turnover of over MOP830 million.
The revenue from the first eight days of October is a significant 29% increase compared to the average daily earnings from the 2023 festive season, totalling at a daily average of $103 million. As per the analysis by JP Morgan, these figures outperformed the revenues during 2023 May’s Golden Week, celebrated concurrent with Labor Day, which had a slightly lower daily average of MOP645 million. Given this feat, some industry experts suggest that the October 2023 result represents around 80% recovery referencing the levels achieved during the same period of October 2019.
This year’s Golden Week festival was extended to eight full days as mainland China decided to concurrently celebrate the national Mid-Autumn Festival and China’s National Day. The eight-day vacation attracted a whopping total of more than 930 thousand visitors, with Macao Government Tourism Office reporting that 76% among them were from mainland China. A record peak of visitors amounting to nearly 160 thousand was observed on the second day of the festival at the gambling paradise.
The initial six days of October saw Macau’s casinos reporting daily revenues of more than MOP930 million. However, as the festival was nearing its end, the region’s gaming industry observed a slowdown with revenues falling to MOP500 million a day on October 7 and 8.
By analyzing the total revenue of MOP825 million earned during the initial eight days of October, JP Morgan team suggested that the figure signifies an approximate 80% recovery as compared to the Golden Week holiday in October 2019. This period brought in a gross gaming revenue of MOP1.16 billion. The team thus believes that the recent holiday represents a significant acceleration after the Macau’s gross gaming revenue concluded the third quarter of 2023 with a 70% recovery.
Furthermore, the JP Morgan team examined the strong market performance and concluded that this upswing was also supported by mass GGR having most likely recovered to around 110% – 120% of the Golden Weeks recorded in 2019. This certainly exceeded the 100% benchmark that many investors had set.
In summary, Macau’s Golden Week proved to be a rather successful period, performing significantly better than market expectations. Given this solid performance in the early days of the fourth quarter of 2023, it is anticipated that the Macau gaming revenue is poised for continuous acceleration and is set to reach peak levels by the year-end.
