Macau February Gambling Revenue Up 22% On Year At MOP24.29 Billion
March 01 2012 - 3:32AM
Dow Jones News
Gambling revenue in Macau rose 22% in February from a year
earlier, government statistics showed Thursday, as players from
mainland China continued to fuel solid growth, though not at the
blistering pace recorded last year.
Gambling revenue in Macau, the only place in China where casino
gambling is legal, rose to MOP24.29 billion (US$3.04 billion) last
month, up from MOP19.86 billion a year earlier, according to data
from Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
The growth was strong considering the week-long Lunar New Year
holidays fell in January this year versus February last year, said
CLSA analyst Aaron Fischer. "This impressive growth highlights
Macau's still-strong momentum on top of two exceptional years. We
are not changing our 15% full-year forecast, but it seems pretty
conservative if we consider that growth will step up when Sands
China Ltd. (1928.HK) opens its new casino resort this year," he
said.
Macau's revenue growth has been explosive since the end of 2009
as players have continued to place bets regardless of China's
tightening measures and local government policies aimed at slowing
growth to a more measured pace. Analysts expect the pace of growth
to slow in 2012, however, due to a high base of comparison last
year and concerns about the sustainability of the fierce growth in
VIP play. The most bearish gambling revenue growth estimates for
the territory hover around 11% compared with last year's 42%
rise.
The Chinese territory remains the largest gambling center in the
world many times over. Last year it raked in more than five times
the gambling revenue of the Las Vegas Strip.
-By Kate O'Keeffe, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002;
kathryn.okeeffe@dowjones.com