Total gaming revenue reportedly rose 528.1% year-over-year to just over $1.05 billion in Macau and July, despite various coronavirus travel restrictions continuing.
Official data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau regulator showed the 31-day period was a sixth consecutive month of improvement year-over-year, and the seven-month related tally for previous Portuguese residences rose 63.9% to about $7.17 billion. The source elaborated that all of this came after the city's coronavirus-affected 2020 gross annual gaming revenue dropped 79.3% to about $7.54 billion.
Macau is home to 41 casinos, including SJM Holdings Limited' iconic Casino Grand Lisboa venue and Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited's $3.2 billion Studio City Macau development. The city government reportedly responded to a small coronavirus outbreak in neighboring China in June by introducing a series of new safety measures requiring arrivals from multiple mainland cities to quarantine for at least two weeks.
That's about 65% compared with $3.05 billion recorded in the same month of 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the industry. The unwelcome situation is known to bring in just $94.17 million in total monthly gaming revenue as Macau saw a 99.7% year-on-year drop to 11,041.
It was 29.2 percent higher than the final tally of about $816.23 million in June, and came after the domestic industry recovered 492.2 percent, 1,014.4 percent and 58 percent year-on-year in March, April and May, respectively. The long-awaited resurgence began in February, when the sector reportedly broke a 16-month slump and recorded a 135.6% increase in total revenue, just over $913.29 million.
After more than seven years of construction from SJM Holdings Limited, the $5 billion Grand Lisboa Palace development took place. The huge facility features 290,000 square feet of casinos, with 500 game tables, a five-star hotel and numerous stores and restaurants.
Mainland China is currently the only region along with Macau to have a travel bubble with few quarantines, but the region has introduced new rules requiring such tourists to present a negative test for the coronavirus, which was announced within the previous 48 hours.