The opening week of June brought a solid performance for Macau's casino financial sector, with casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) starting the month on a stable note. According to UBS, a prominent banking institution, while the first week showed promising numbers, the high comparison base from the past year combined with the disturbances anticipated from the FIFA World Cup suggest only a minor decline in GGR when viewed year-on-year, affecting both June and July.
In the initial week of June, the daily average GGR was approximately MOP700 million, which translates to around US$86.7 million. This performance remained consistent with the figures from the same period last year.
Despite this apparent steadiness, UBS's assessments indicated subtle variations between the gambling segments. They noted a modest decrease of 3 to 5 percent month-on-month in the mass market daily revenue rate. Likewise, a 5 to 8 percent contraction was recorded in the VIP volume daily rate, with VIP hold slightly fluctuating between 2.9 to 3.1 percent.
Anticipated Declines and Historical Comparisons
During this period, the GGR rate was marginally lower by 4 percent compared to May's figures of circa MOP729 million per day, albeit this is off a significant base typical for the season. Historically, this is a less severe reduction than seen during 2015 to 2019, where a 9 percent month-on-month decrease was typical for June.
UBS projected that for the remainder of June, casinos in Macau would need to sustain a daily revenue of about MOP694 million to meet the consensus full-month expectation of MOP695 million daily. Should these conditions be met, June's revenue figures would show a 1 percent decline year-on-year and a 5 percent drop from the previous month of May.
The forecasted mild decrease is attributed primarily to the ongoing FIFA World Cup and the high comparison base from the latter half of the previous year.
The Impact of External Factors
The expected minor downturn in GGR also reflects upon the exceptional gains Macau experienced in the second half of the previous year. GGR from June to December 2025 showed growth in double digits every month except September, which still managed a 6.0 percent rise despite the challenges of Super Typhoon Ragasa causing a temporary 33-hour halt in casino operations. UBS anticipates that the high benchmark set previously and the coincident FIFA World Cup could lead to this slight anticipated decline in GGR.
The World Cup, scheduled from June 11 to July 19, engages significant global attention, potentially shifting focus and resources from usual gaming activities in Macau during this time. The nuanced interplay of these factors highlights the need for cautious optimism within Macau's gaming industry as it navigates the confluence of seasonal and event-based impacts.
Source: Macau June GGR start 'solid', but high-base effect, World Cup may weigh on full-month result: UBS, GGRAsia, June 9, 2026.
Posted by Wizard
Jun 09 2026
Jun 09 2026
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