The Macau gaming industry demonstrated robust performance last week, with daily gross gaming revenues reaching approximately $77.9 million, investment bank JP Morgan said in a new report.
Analyzing the growth momentum, JP Morgan observed sustained demand within the Macau market, suggesting no indications of a slowdown, and predicted the total March revenues to exceed $2.36 billion.
As per the figures provided by JP Morgan, gross gaming revenues totaled around $1.85 billion for the first 24 days of March. This suggests an average daily revenue of approximately $77 million, representing only a slight decrease of 1% to 2% compared to the average daily revenue of $78.2 million recorded in January and February 2024.
“This compares with a 104-percent recovery in fourth-quarter 2023, suggesting mass gaming demand can grow by +3 percent to 4 percent quarter-on-quarter in first-quarter 2024, to outperform the historical seasonality of +2 percent quarter-on-quarter,” JP Morgan analysts observed, as per media reports.
JP Morgan contrasts this performance with the typical “historical trend of -4% month-on-month” experienced by Macau casinos in March. The accelerated activity during this typically slower period contributes to the city’s overall gross gaming revenue. The mass gaming market is reported to be growing at a rate of approximately 110% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
While the mass market experiences robust growth, the VIP segment lags behind, with recovery levels remaining approximately 20% lower. However, other segments are driving industry growth forward.
“We continue to model March to print a GGR of circa MOP19 billion ($2.36 billion), which will drive first-quarter GGR to grow 5 percent quarter-on-quarter – or over 60 percent year-on-year – to be yet another post-pandemic high,” the report said.
JP Morgan anticipates that the gross gaming revenues for the first quarter of 2024 will exceed the results of the fourth quarter of 2023 by approximately 5%, setting a new record for the Macau gaming industry.