Macau casinos’ operations may slowly be getting back to normal but their financial performance is expected to be anything but normal for the foreseeable future.

On Thursday, Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) announced that around 5,400 casino gaming tables – representing 80% of total market capacity – will be operational as of Friday. That’s up from just 46% a little over one week ago, following last month’s reopening of casinos after the mandatory 15-day COVID-19 coronavirus-related shutdown.

Despite the positive momentum, the gaming tables are still operating under the new restrictions aimed at minimizing further viral spread, and analysts expect March casino gaming revenue could fall as much as 80% year-on-year based on the sector’s performance through the first half of the month. Macau’s casino gaming revenue fell 88% year-on-year to MOP3.1b in February, the largest drop in the market’s history.

On Thursday, Macau’s Executive Council projected that the local government’s share of casino gaming revenue could total MOP130b (US$16.26b) this year, roughly half the sum the government had forecast in its 2020 budget before the COVID-19 crisis began, although still a modest increase from 2019’s MOP112.7b figure.