Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) reported January gross gaming revenue (GGR) of MOP24.94 billion ($3.08 billion), 5% lower than the same period last year.

This was the first year-on-year decline of monthly GGR in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) since July of 2016, and points to reduced growth for the year, as earlier projected by analysts.

In just the previous month of December, GGR had risen 16.6%. Total GGR for 2018 was $37.57 billion, 14% higher than in 2017.

At the start of the year, Union Gaming’s Grant Govertsen had said he was expecting a “flattish” January, with single-digit growth in February partly driven by Chinese New Year, taking place on February 5.