Macau GGR at $437M in 6 days of April: Citigroup
Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) reached about MOP3.5 billion ($437 million) in the first six days of April 2025, according to Citigroup’s latest investment memo. The daily GGR in early April stood at MOP583 million, marking an 8 percent decrease when compared to the late March figures. Late March recorded daily rate of MOP632 million.
Decline due to seasonal trend
This decline, though noticeable, is not unexpected, and analysts attribute it to the seasonal patterns that characterise Macau’s gaming revenue trends. Analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau have noted how April typically sees reduced activity before the Labor Day holidays in early May.
Industry sources have reported that VIP volumes, once the crown jewel of the Macau’s gaming revenue, fell by 6-7 percent month-over-month. Similarly, mass-market GGR saw a drop of 7-8 percent compared to the previous month. Despite the early April slowdown, Citigroup has maintained its GGR forecast for the entire month at MOP18 billion. This marks a decrease of 3 percent from the previous year. It also represents a 76 percent decline from the GGR figures seen in April 2019.
Impact on mass and premium mass gaming: analysts
In related news, recent arrests in Macau on illegal money exchange operations will have potential negative consequences for both the mass and premium mass gaming sectors, according to Macquarie Equity Research analysts. The catalyst for these concerns is a police operation that resulted in the arrest of 33 individuals, including 14 casino hosts from Cotai-based casinos. These arrests were part of an ongoing investigation into illegal money exchange operations linked to eight jewelry shops in Macau. The incident, according to the analysts, “raises concerns about GGR for the coming months, particularly in the premium and grind mass segments. We believe this would lead the market to further revise down the full-year GGR.”
Last week, Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) reported a minimal rise in total gaming revenue for March 2025. For the month, total gross gaming revenue (GGR) totaled MOP19.66 billion, marking a modest 0.8 percent increase compared to March 2024. This month’s gaming revenue marks a slight decrease of 0.4 percent from February’s figure.
March’s figure took the aggregate gaming revenue so far this year to nearly MOP57.66 billion, up 0.6 percent on the same period in 2024. Last month, total gaming gross revenue (GGR) was up 6.8 percent year-on-year to reach MOP19.74 billion ($2.46 billion). February’s result comes after operators reported strong post-Chinese New Year demand which helped soften the blow that the city’s casinos faced during the “softer than originally forecast” Lunar New Year Golden Week.
