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Macau's gambling revenue hits 3-year high

This article is more than 12 months old

HONG KONG: Gambling revenue in Macau jumped 22 per cent last month, beating expectations to hit a three-year high as a national holiday week saw visitors stream into the world's biggest casino hub and big bets from VIP punters.

Monthly gambling revenue came in at 26.6 billion patacas (S$4.5b), rising from a year earlier for a 15 consecutive month of gains. That was higher than analysts' expectations of growth between 13 per cent and 18 per cent.

Visitors from mainland China during the holiday week, which ran from Oct 1 to 8, rose 11 per cent from a year earlier and casino operators including MGM China and Wynn Macau said hotel rooms had been fully booked.

The holiday period was also one day longer than last year.

During the third quarter, Macau's gambling revenues have been bolstered by growth in the high roller VIP segment, with growth in the mass market segment lagging behind.

Earnings from Sands and Wynn in the past week have shown strong VIP gains. But analysts are cautious about the sustainability of recent strength due to macro-economic factors such as a slowdown in money supply growth and real estate pricing. - REUTERS

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