Macau Brings Home $8.5 Billion in Gaming Taxes

The Financial Service Bureau of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China has released the provisional data for the first nine months of this year, revealing an increase in gaming taxes during that period.

Macau grossed $8.54 billion dollars in taxes between January 1 and September 31, which is 17.5% more than during the same period of last year when the region managed to take home $7.1 billion.

Important Source of Income

Gaming taxes are an important source of income for Macau, accounting for 80.9% of the total revenue of $10.3 billion recorded during the said period.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) during the first nine months of 2017 also recorded a year-on-year increase, with $23.5 billion being 18.8% more than the industry generated last year.

The annual budget estimated the territory would earn $8.7 billion in direct taxes alone, but the latest year to date numbers reveal this forecast will definitely be exceeded, mainly due to a staggering 95.5% increase.

According to Bernstein, Macanese gross gaming revenue (GGR) should record a year-on-year increase in October. It is estimated this jump should be somewhere between 13% and 15%, while the main driving force behind the expected result would be the continued growth in VIP activity.

If these estimates prove to be right – and the numbers end up between 13% and 15% – the final amount when it comes to GGR will be between $2.9 billion and $3 billion.

More Visitors in September

The region is also experiencing the rise in the number of visitors during September. The number of visitors coming from Mainland China went up by 9.2% on a yearly basis, just during September alone, to a total of 1.7 million.

Macau was also popular among the South Koreans, with 10.6% more visitors from this country than in the same month of last year.

On the other hand, the number of visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan dropped by 14.3% and 5.8% respectively. There were also fewer visitors from the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.