Macau casino gaming revenue nearly doubled in July from June’s record low but still came in nearly 95% below the same month last year.

Figures released by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Policy Bureau (DICJ) show the special administrative region of China’s casinos generated gaming revenue of MOP1.34b (US$168.4m) in July, down 94.5% from July 2019’s total, marking the 10th straight month of year-on-year declines. For the year-to-date, revenue is down nearly 80% to MOP35b.

However, the figure was nearly twice June’s record low sum of MOP716m, reflecting the modest bump in tourist traffic since China’s Guangdong province eased its COVID-19 restrictions that required individuals returning to the mainland to self-isolate for 14 days.

This week, a Macau representative in Guangdong told local media that Beijing authorities had signalled that the rest of China’s provinces would follow Guangdong’s lead by resuming the issuing of non-tourism travel permits starting August 12. Macau authorities subsequently said they have yet to receive confirmation of this report.