While casinos welcomed many visitors during the Lunar New Year, new regulations threaten the return of Macau casino revenue to pre-pandemic levels. Nevertheless, diners filled the restaurants and players packed casinos during the holiday.
According to online gambling news, the casino industry suffered $1.2 billion in losses in 2022. It is far from when Macau unseated Las Vegas as the gambling capital in 2006. However, China’s strict COVID Zero rules impacted the gambling industry.
During the pandemic, Las Vegas overtook Macau. The former earned $8.3 billion in 2022. On the other hand, Macau casinos earned $5.2 billion. The good news is that Macau is starting to recover. Also, its gambling revenue increased by 30 percent in February.
Macau Casino Revenue
According to gambling reviews and news sites, Beijing’s clampdown on vice affected Macau’s gambling industry. Also, the sector accounts for 80 percent of the city’s income. China wants to reduce the city’s reliance on baccarat and blackjack. In addition, China wants to turn Macau into a family-friendly entertainment center.
Exactly one month before casino licenses in Macau were set to expire, the government imposed stricter regulations on the industry in June of last year. As a result, all six operators in the city extended their licenses last year, but only after agreeing to spend over $13 billion on nongaming activities over the next decade, a move the government hopes would bring in more tourists from outside. However, according to Ben Lee, general partner of consultant IGamiX in Macau, this strategy will leave casinos footing the tab for the change while attracting fewer high-rolling VIPs.
Macau is known chiefly for its gambling, unlike Las Vegas, where the city’s entertainment, eating, and hotel industries contribute more money to the economy than gambling does.
Without a constant flow of high rollers, casinos would increasingly need to rely on mass-market visitors, who spend less than a fifth of what high-end gamblers do, according to projections by Credit Suisse Group AG. According to betting odds experts, this prediction comes from UBS Group AG.