Macau’s government is publicly expressing concern over its ongoing reliance on casinos after its gaming tax revenue fell nearly 40% in the first quarter of 2020.

On Monday, Ho Iat Seng, the new chief executive of the Special Administrative Region of Macau, issued his inaugural policy address. Ho (pictured) warned that the COVID-19 pandemic had “once again exposed vulnerability and risks of Macau’s economic structure” and that there’d been no “obvious” change from previous efforts to diversify its economy.

Ho’s address came a few days after Macau’s Financial Services Bureau announced that gaming tax revenue in the first three months of 2020 had totaled slightly less than MOP18.5b (US$2.3b). That’s 37.6% below the tax haul from Q1 2019 and only about three-quarters of what Macau’s government expected to earn in this most recent quarter.

Macau’s casino gaming revenue was down 80% in March and analysts have suggested April’s tally could fall by 95% year-on-year as ongoing travel restrictions between Macau and mainland China have slowed tourist traffic to a trickle.