Losses could continue into June
Gross gaming revenues in Macau for March came in at MOP 18 billion (US$2.3 billion), down 16.3 percent from MOP 21.5 billion in 2015, according to data from the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
According to brokerage Bernstein, ADR for the month was MOP 580 million, 14 percent lower than February ADR of MOP 683 million, according to the Asia Gaming Brief.
Despite the numbers, Union Gaming says it has a positive view of the results for April. “The underlying GGR story feels to us like it continues to improve with a gradually shifting revenue mix within the new normalized range of MOP 17-18 billion,” said the firm, adding that revenues could continue to drop until June. The recession would then officially be in its second year.
Paulo Martins Chan, the director of the DICJ, also believes the worst is over. In an interview with Radio Macau, he said, “The most difficult times are now behind us. I think that, if there’s a decline this year, it will be a slight decline.”
In the same interview, Chan said he “was never pressured to act in a certain way by the former Prosecutor General Ho Chio Meng,” the former general prosecutor who was recently arrested and charged with fraud, abuse of power and document forgery in a case that also involves other government officials. The Commission against Corruption says those officials took bribes amounting to 44 million patacas (US$5.5 million) over a 10-year period.
