In October, Macau casinos earned more revenue than in any month since January 2020. 

On Friday, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of Macau released the gross gaming revenue (GGR) figures for October, indicating that the six casino concessionaires earned MOP20.78 (US$2.59 billion) in the previous month. October saw a 6.6% rise compared to the previous year and a 20% jump from September. 

October enjoyed a robust National Day, China's week-long holiday starting on October 1 each year to commemorate Mao Zedong’s founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949. Attendance during the weeklong festival surged, with daily border crossings averaging nearly 142K. The traffic surpassed visitor levels from before the pandemic. 

Casinos gained from an increased number of visitors in town, resulting in October surpassing the May GGR total of $2.52 billion, which was formerly the top gaming month for the resorts in 2024. October 2024 was additionally the top month since January 2020. 

As of October, casino earnings reached $23.74 billion, an increase of more than 28%, or $5.21 billion, compared to the previous year's same period. However, even with the gaming recovery in 2024, the earnings from January to October were still 23% lower than in the same time frame of 2019. 

Investors Becoming Exhausted 

Investor sentiment towards the six publicly listed casino firms in Macau continues to be low almost five years after the outbreak of the coronavirus. 

China's adherence to Xi Jinping's "zero-COVID" policy until the end of 2022 delayed a post-pandemic resurgence in Macau. Beijing’s order to Macau to intensify efforts against money laundering and capital outflow — both aimed at the junket industry in Macau — has further hindered the gaming recovery since the end of zero-COVID in December 2022. 

The six operators face additional financial pressure as they had to spend tens of billions of dollars on their resorts to obtain new 10-year gaming licenses valid until 2032. Sands, Galaxy, Wynn, MGM, Melco, and SJM consented to invest nearly $16.2 billion in non-gaming initiatives throughout the duration of the concessions. 

The nongaming initiative aims to reduce Macau's dependence on casino gaming and turn the Chinese region into a top spot for leisure tourists, families, and non-gaming enterprises. 

Investors, on the other hand, continue to be cautious regarding the future of the casinos. In October, Macau casino stocks fell by 11.4%, whereas the benchmark Hang Seng Index declined by under 4%. 

Market Challenges 

October was a necessary showing for Macau casinos and the companies' investors. Casino stocks in Macau experienced increases during Friday's trading. 

As we look forward, worries persist for the six casino behemoths. A major concern is China's recent directive for Macau police to focus on unlicensed money exchanges that have typically functioned in the resort areas for many years. 

These exchanges enabled high rollers from the mainland to transfer funds to the exchanges and retrieve their cash upon entering the casino enclave. The unregulated exchanges, in contrast to banks and other more reputable financial entities, had assisted mainland high rollers in bypassing Beijing’s stringent restrictions on capital outflow. 

As unlicensed currency exchanges are now illegal, high rollers and premium mass players will face more difficulty moving large sums of money to the tax haven of Macau. 

Visitors to Macau are restricted to bringing $15,000 in cash. Anyone possessing an amount exceeding that must utilize the entry port’s “Red Channel” processing system. 

The Red Channel requires significantly more time for travelers to finish the customs process in comparison to the Green Channel, where travelers have no items to declare. Passengers processed through the Red Channel may have their money and/or possessions seized unless they can provide a valid explanation for attempting to bring the assets, or CBNIs — Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments.