Casino revenues in the first week of August have reverted to the levels of September last year, investment research and institutional asset management company, Sanford C Bernstein Ltd reported.
According to the brokerage firm, the average daily gross gaming revenue (GGR) dropped as much as 48% for the first week of August when compared with the previous week. The weekly total of 125 million patacas is “the lowest daily GGR since late September [last year],” the firm stated.
The sharp drop was attributed to recent travel disruptions between Macau and the mainland after four Delta variant Covid-19 cases in a family of local residents was detected on August 3. The affected individuals had been in contact with the community, triggering fears of a potential outbreak.
In response to the discovery, cross-border travel became highly restricted, with those traveling between the neighboring city of Zhuhai and Macau required to present a negative Nucleic Acid Test result issued within 12 hours.
Although the casino operations were never at risk, having been cleared by the Chief Executive (CE), Ho Iat Seng at a special government press conference on August 4, the health authorities decided to conduct mass testing across the whole population in Macau to ensure that there were no hidden cases, a fact that also disrupted economic activity within the region.
By executive order of the CE, several types of establishments, including karaoke venues, saunas, and bars were also forced to close their doors, which scared away a large number of casino patrons.
Nevertheless, Sanford C Bernstein also noted in the same report that since the mass testing delivered a negative result, the “situation in Macau appears to be under control.” It is expected that both border restrictions and, consequently, casino operations will soon resume to previous levels.
Still, the report notes that it is expected that August results will show a 30% drop when compared to July and a 70% drop when compared year-on-year with 2019.
According to official data, July 2021 was the second-best month since the start of the pandemic, only surpassed by May this year, when GGR reached 10.4 billion patacas.
Also contributing to a future positive outlook was the lifting of the city’s “immediate prevention status” last night.