Macau Casinos revenues from gambling falls drastically in May 2022

[Sumit]

Macau casino revenues from gambling fell by almost 70% in May

The world's largest gambling entertainment center, the Chinese administrative district of Macau, suffers from serious financial turmoil. The problems are related to the huge losses of local casinos. Unemployment in the gambling entertainment sector of the city has reached its highest level since 2009. This is reported by Reuters news agency.

According to media reports, the regional gambling market has shown one of the worst monthly revenues since September 2020. Thus, at the end of May, the profit of the Macau casino from gambling fell by 68% compared to the same period of the previous year.
"We are the most tourism-dependent city in the world. Of course, we didn't have any other industries to rely on. It is important to remember that we have not diversified for 20 years. It won't happen tomorrow. There is no quick solution," said Glenn McCartney, a professor at the University of Macau.
The Special Administrative Region of China is the only place in the country where legal play is allowed. Macau is heavily dependent on casino taxes, which account for more than 80% of government revenues.
Macau's dependence on gambling has become apparent since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when attendance at local gambling establishments fell by 80% compared to the same period in 2019 due to travel restrictions.
China's actions to stop capital outflows and combat the opaque janket industry have also led to a decrease in gambling revenues.
Cost cuts and growing economic losses are evident throughout a small town with more than 600,000 people, and extend to sectors such as retail, industrial and commercial services.

Grand Lisboa Casino, Macau
According to the latest government data, the unemployment rate among local residents increased to 4.5% compared to 1.8% in 2019.
Referring to the difficult business environment and gloomy prospects for the gambling segment, Emperor Entertainment operator said that it would close its casino on June 26. According to local media reports, at least seven other institutions of this type should cease operations by the middle of this year.
The Macau government called on casinos, which employ tens of thousands of local residents, not to fire employees. Instead, some operators preferred not to renew employment contracts or offered unpaid leave or bonuses instead of paying full wages.
The Macau Economic Association said that the local business climate index will remain "bad" over the next three months.

[Sumit]

Macau gaming operators continue to burn cash for their parent companies, including several in Las Vegas, as the pandemic plays out.