Macau's casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) witnessed a significant decline in October, falling by 10.0 percent year-on-year. According to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), the revenue tallied at MOP21.68 billion, or US$2.68 billion. This marked the fifth consecutive month where the GGR saw a drop compared to the previous year and stood as the second-largest annual fall within 2026.
The decrease happened despite October including a Golden Week holiday, which traditionally boosts tourism from mainland China to Macau, bringing high demand to the region.
Comparison of Monthly and Annual Figures
Looking at the monthly data, October's GGR represented a 20.0 percent increase from the revenue generated in September at just over MOP18.06 billion. However, when compared to earlier months this year, the performance was uneven. For instance, June saw a more substantial 12.1 percent decline compared to the previous year.
The cumulative GGR for the first ten months of 2026 reached MOP208.80 billion, incrementing by 1.6 percent year-on-year. Macau's Chief Executive, Sam Hou Fai, remarked earlier in October that the GGR performance for that month would play a pivotal role in assessing whether Macau could meet its 2026 government target of reaching MOP236 billion in total GGR. Despite the downturn in October, there are still hopes hinged on the remaining months of the year to help bridge the gap towards this target.
Market Observations and Future Predictions
An October 17 note from the brokerage China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Ltd (CICC) pointed out the lack of any apparent 'near-term inflection point' for the Macau GGR or overall sector profitability. This assessment highlighted potential underestimations among investors regarding the gaming demand's weakness. Moreover, a memo from the banking group UBS indicated that the consensus figures for Macau's October GGR posed a 'challenging' outlook. This was partly due to the moderation in daily run-rates from around MOP1.0 billion during the first few days of the October Golden Week holiday period.
However, not all projections are bleak. CreditSights, in its recent analysis, maintained optimism that Macau might still reach the government's ambitious GGR goal for 2026. For this to happen, the territory will need to achieve an average monthly GGR of MOP16.3 billion in the remaining months of the year to align with the annual target. This would require a consistent and sustained recovery in the coming months, capitalizing on busy periods and high tourist turnout to drive performance.
Source: October casino GGR follows downward trend, dips 10pct y-o-y to US$2.68bln: Macau govt, GGRAsia, November 1, 2026
Posted by Wizard
Nov 03 2026
Nov 03 2026
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