Estimates of up to 8 percent
The brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein estimates that gross gaming revenues in Macau will grow 2 percent to 4 percent year-on-year for the month of November. Bernstein says the gaming hub was challenged this month by the Macau Grand Prix, which caused some tourists to delay their visits.
It estimated average VIP daily volume to be down by mid-single digits month-on-month, while mass GGR would be down by high-single digits month-on-month, reported Asia Gaming Brief.
Bernstein’s estimate is in line with the predictions it made at the start of the month, but other analysts differ. On November 1, according to a report in GGRAsia, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. predicted GGR gains of 1.6 percent for the month. And a note from Union Gaming said GGR this month would be MOP25 billion, 8 percent more than a year ago.
Meanwhile, Inside Asian Gaming reports that the Macau government took in MOP$7.9 billion (US$63.6 million) in direct gaming taxes in October, just over the MOP$7.6 billion it collected in October 2017, but down from the MOP$9.6 billion it collected in September 2018. Even so, October’s returns push the 2018 total to MOP$88.2 billion in direct taxes from gaming, up 15.6 percent year-on-year, according to the city’s Financial Services Bureau.
