The more than 40 casinos in the gambling hotspot of Macau had a very productive June as their aggregated gross gaming revenues improved by 16.4% year-on-year to reach just shy of $2.2 billion.

The result publicized by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau regulator is the highest June tally since the pre-pandemic days of 2019 and also took the former Portuguese enclave’s six-month reckoning up by 41.9% year-on-year to approximately $14.1 billion.

Dazzling Destination

Widely considered to be the ‘Las Vegas of the East’, Macau is home to some of the biggest and most lavish casino resorts in the world, including the 2,200-room City of Dreams development from Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, in addition to SJM Holdings’ lotus-shaped Grand Lisboa property.

The city of about 710,000 people also hosts the planet’s largest gambling-friendly concern in the 3,000-room Venetian Macao facility. This enterprise, run by the local Sands China Limited subsidiary of American operator Las Vegas Sands Corporation, features a 550,000 sq ft casino hosting a selection of around 3,400 slots as well as more than 800 gaming tables.

Significant Setback

Casinos in Macau were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic as international visitor numbers plummeted to all-time lows. Local authorities even ordered such venues to shut their doors for lengthy periods in 2020 and 2022 as part of an effort to stop the spread of the highly-contagious ailment.

However, the ensuing months have seen Macau’s many casinos experience a slow but gradual rise in aggregated gross gaming revenues as punter numbers increase and consumer confidence returns.

Optimistic Outlook

Although favorable, the June result was nevertheless 12.3% below May’s finishing aggregated gross gaming revenues tally of $2.5 billion and additionally represented a decline of 25.7% when compared with the $2.9 billion chalked up for June of 2019.

But the steady return to normality following the dark days of the pandemic could now well see Macau’s casinos finish 2024 with annual aggregated gross gaming revenues in the region of $28 billion, which would represent a year-on-year boost of something like 25%.