Analysts are betting on a slow improvement in Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) for August compared to last year’s data.

Japanese banking giant Nomura predicted a 3 percent decline for Macau’s GGR in August, the smallest year-on-year contraction since February’s 0.1 percent GGR tally a year earlier. Unlike the month of August, February is a busy month for the industry due to the Chinese New Year Holiday.

August GGR prediction is lower than the July’s casino GGR, which, according to official data, is at a 4.5 percent drop to MOP17.77 billion (US$2.22 billion).

“For the first seven days of August, average daily gaming revenue (GGR), excluding slots, was down 5.5 percent week-on-week to HKD538 million [US$69.4 million], despite a lucky VIP win rate (3.2 percent versus normal of 2.85 percent),” Nomura said in its Monday note, according to GGRAsia.