Macau’s casino gaming revenue suffered yet another dramatic plunge in March, suggesting that the market’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is anything but over.
Figures released Wednesday by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) show overall casino gaming revenue of MOP5.25b (US$657.5m), a 79.7% decline from the same month last year. Over the first three months of 2020, total revenue is down 60% to MOP30.5b.
While March’s total was around two-thirds higher than February’s abysmally low MOP3.1b (-87.8% year-on-year), Macau’s casinos were forced to close for 15 days in February to minimize further transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus. As of mid-March, around 80% of Macau casino tables were back in action, albeit with social distancing restrictions.
Trouble is, there just weren’t any customers flocking to Macau last month, and that situation doesn’t look ready to improve anytime soon. China has yet to resume issuing exit visas under its individual visit scheme and last week saw authorities in Guangdong province – from which Macau draws most of its mainland customers – impose new quarantine restrictions on travelers returning from Macau.