On September 1, as Macau reported another month of depressed gaming revenues, it also announced it would reopen its borders to international travelers.
The change could be just in time for Macau’s gaming industry, which historically has generated up to 80 percent of government revenues, but has almost ground to a halt amid Covid-19 shutdowns.
Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) reported the region’s 40-plus casinos generated $270.7 million in August, down 50.7 percent year on year. August’s total was the second lowest this year, and followed a Covid surge that caused borders to close and casinos to shut down. In July, the city reported $49.2 million in gaming revenue.
At a September 1 press conference, Valerie Wong of the Macau Health Bureau said people from 41 countries “with better economic conditions” will be allowed to enter Macau, “and more foreigners of different nationalities will be allowed to enter in phases in the future.”
“The government has taken into account the impact of the pandemic on the economy of Macau over the past two and a half years,” she said. “The government plans to allow foreigners to enter Macau in phases on the premise of balancing pandemic prevention measures and the economy.”
Covid-19 has taken most of the blame for the decline, but according to Inside Asian Gaming, a Macau professor believes it’s more closely linked to Mainland China’s anti-gambling stance.
“Seventy percent of visitors to Macau used to be mainland residents, but now only 10 percent of those are left,” said Eilo Yu Wing-yat, associate professor in the Department of Government and Public Administration at the University of Macau. “The pandemic is only accelerating the decline of the gambling industry but the root cause is the mainland’s restrictions on offshore gambling. … The central government does not want too many mainlanders coming to Macau or other places for offshore gambling.”
In fact, gaming concessionaires in Macau, now bidding for new 10-year licenses, have been directed to “develop foreign markets” and lure more customers from beyond Mainland China. The local government has asserted that Macau’s gaming industry can no longer rely on “a single source of tourists.”
The professor notes that the transition won’t happen soon, “and even if clearance is given, GGR will not return to 2019 levels.” For the first half of this year, GGR reached only MOP$26.3 billion (US$3.25 billion), down 46.4 percent year on year.
