The Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is now feeling the crunch of the global economic slowdown as its casinos continually reports weakening gambling revenues.
For the month of November, casinos at the world's largest gambling hub report lower-than-expected revenues, further inching the city forward to its first annual revenue decline in over three years.
The "Las Vegas of Asia" is being hit hard by the global economic slowdown and the domestic unrest in its neighboring city of Hong Kong, which has resulted in a decrease of high roller gamblers. For November, gross gaming revenue for the city was just $2.8 billion. This was 8.5 percent lower when compared to the same period last year.
According to the city's Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau, the revenue recorded for November was the second weakest figure for 2019. The agency blamed the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States and the overall global economic slowdown for the reduction in high roller players visiting the city's establishments.
Since the start of the year, the highest gross revenue reported was in October, where casinos made over $3.28 billion for the year. From January to November, year-to-date revenue is down by a total of 2.4 percent.
Analysts have stated that the decline in gaming revenues is directly related to the recent softening of the Chinese economy and the weakness in the Chinese currency. High roller players, which are the bread and butter of casinos in the city, has apparently tightened their belts given the current economic situation.
Apart from the aforementioned factors, several other key events have played a part in the city's declining gambling revenues. The recent attack on Macau's biggest junket operator Suncity has also caused quite a stir in the sector, resulting in the decline of visits from big-whale players.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the city this month is also expected to put further pressure on gaming revenues for December, as the city tightens its visa policies ahead of the president's visit. Xi will be visiting the former British colony to celebrate the 20th year anniversary of it being under Chinese rule.
While the outlook for the rest of the year may be bleak, analysts predict that 2020 may be a better year for gambling revenues. Current estimates have the city's gambling revenues jump to 3 percent next year, which is still significantly lower than the double-digit growth experienced in 2017 and 2018.
