Macau casino gaming revenue grew by two-thirds in August from the previous month, but nonetheless posted its sixth straight month of at least 90% year-on-year declines.

Figures released Thursday by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) show casino gaming revenue of MOP2.2b (US$277m) in August, a 90% fall from the same month last year. For the year-to-date, gaming revenue is down 82.5% to MOP38.6b.

Glass half-full types will note that August’s revenue was 66.2% better than July 2020’s result, and while the annual decline was 90% on the nose, that’s 3.2 points lower than May’s 93.2% annual decline, which until this point was the lowest 90-plus negative score since April.  

But August’s sum was lower than most analysts had forecast, given that China had authorized the resumption of travel visas from Guangdong province – Macau’s primary source of gamblers – in late August. Hopes are high that the extension of this visa relaxation to the rest of China on September 23 may help boost October’s stats.