As seen in data published by the Macanese Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, the revenue of Macau’s gaming industry reached a record high of MOP$19.5 billion ($2.4 billion) this March. This marks an impressive 53% increase from last year’s figures for the same month.
The end of March and the beginning of April was also the time frame during which Hong Kong celebrated its Easter holidays, and this is thought to have played a significant role in the gambling industry’s impressive results. After all, Hong Kong is in close proximity to Macau, allowing tourists to flood the region during their days off. Hong Kong’s and China’s Ching Ming Festival, which is set to commence later this week, is also likely to boost Macau’s gaming revenue for April, according to analysts.
It should be noted that the total gross earnings were roughly 75% of the figures forMarch 2019. While this is a small yet notable improvement over February’s results, it is nonetheless lower than December 2023’s revenue growth, which reached 81% of what was recorded in December 2019. In fact, February’s somewhat poor performance led to analysts estimating the potential year-on-year growth in March to be just shy of 50%, although this forecast was, thankfully, proven to be too pessimistic.
The End of Macau’s Horse Racing Scene
These gaming revenue results might be seen by some as somewhat bittersweet, seeing as their release comes mere days after the last horse race to be held by the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) took place. As CasinoGamesPro reported this January, the club itself requested for its concession contract with Macau’s government to be terminated, and it was on April 1st that the club officially closed its doors. With that, an over 40-year legacy has come to an end.
According to the news magazine Nikkei Asia, Saturday’s race hosted over 3,000 spectators, a stark contrast to last year’s average attendance of nearly 500. Nikkei Asia spoke with both frequent visitors of the Jockey Club, as well as individuals whose Saturday race was both their first and last horse racing experience in Macau. One veteran bettor, Steve Kao, drew attention to the surprising level of attendance but also criticized the Macau Jockey Club for mismanagement. Kao has 50 years of experience in wagering on races in Hong Kong and Macau, and he drew comparisons between the two horse racing scenes, deeming the former to be superior. He also claimed he had no confidence in MJC-hosted races and had thus been far more conservative with how much he wagered in Macau compared to Hong Kong.
Indeed, the Macau Jockey Club had been undergoing major difficulties in the years leading up to its end. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the club particularly hard, and it was eventually revealed that the Macau Horse Racing Company had not even been profitable and had, instead, operated at a loss of over MOP$2.5 billion.
