Macau's gross gaming revenue hits $1.6 billion in first three weeks of July, reports J.P. Morgan

Macau's gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first three weeks of July reached MOP12.75 billion ($1.6 billion), indicating steady gaming demand during the summer holiday period, according to brokerage J.P. Morgan.

In their latest update, J.P. Morgan analysts DS Kim, Mufan Shi, and Selina Li noted that daily GGR averaged MOP607 million ($75.5 million) for the first 21 days of the month, Macau Business reported. The third week’s run-rate remained consistent with the previous week at MOP635 million ($79 million) per day, while significantly higher than the MOP550 million ($68.4 million) per day recorded during the first week.

“This reflects pretty decent (albeit not fantastic) demand from summer holidays, despite concerns regarding a crackdown of illegal fund exchange gangs,” the analysts wrote, as per the report.

In June, China's Ministry of Public Security called for increased cooperation between security forces in Macau and the Chinese mainland to combat illegal money exchanges in Macau. These money changers, frequently found near the city's casinos, have been identified as a significant channel for transferring funds between the Chinese mainland and Macau.

J.P. Morgan estimates that the mass GGR is currently around 110 percent of pre-Covid levels, while the VIP segment's GGR is at approximately mid-20 percent of pre-pandemic figures. These estimates align with buy-side consensus but are slightly below sell-side expectations, the report said.

The brokerage maintained its July GGR forecast at around MOP18.5 billion ($2.3 billion), suggesting a 76 percent recovery compared to 2019 levels.