Macau Gaming Revenue Drops Amid Xi Jinping’s Visit

Macau’s gaming revenue fell by 2% in December, missing analysts’ expectations, as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the world’s largest casino hub dampened gambling activity, Shirley Zhao reported this for Bloomberg News.

During Xi's visit, heightened security measures discouraged high rollers and frequent gamblers.

Gross gaming revenue for the month reached 18.2 billion patacas ($2.3 billion), according to data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. This was below analysts’ median forecast of a 2% year-on-year increase and remains 20% lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

The December figures brought Macau’s total gaming revenue for 2024 to 226.8 billion patacas, up 24% from the previous year but still at only 78% of 2019 levels.

Xi’s three-day visit to Macau was his first since 2019.

During the visit, heightened security measures discouraged high rollers and frequent gamblers, many of whom travel from mainland China, the city’s largest source of tourism spending.

Macau recorded 2.8 million visitor arrivals in November, nearly 97% of the pre-pandemic level.

Data for December is expected later this month. In a speech during his visit, Xi urged Macau to diversify its economy and increase investment in industries with international competitiveness to reduce reliance on gaming revenue.