Macau October Gambling Revenue Up 42% On Year At MOP26.85 Billion
01 November 2011 - 6:16PM
Dow Jones News
Gambling revenue in Macau rose 42% to a new record high in
October, government statistics showed Tuesday, as high rollers from
mainland China continued to fuel growth despite investor concerns
Beijing's moves to tighten credit will stop the music.
Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is legal,
has seen gambling revenue soar since the end of 2009 as players
continue to place bets regardless of China's tightening measures
and local government policies aimed at slowing growth to a more
measured pace.
Gambling revenue in the Chinese territory rose to MOP26.85
billion (US$3.36 billion) last month, up from MOP18.87 billion a
year earlier, according to data from Macau's Gaming Inspection and
Coordination Bureau.
October's revenue haul bested the territory's previous all-time
high of MOP24.77 billion hit in August. It was boosted by China's
"golden week" holidays, which fall in May and October.
In the January-October period, Macau's gambling revenue has
risen 45% from a year earlier, following a 58% surge last year.
Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip as the world's biggest
gambling market in 2006 and is poised to rake in more than five
times the Strip's gambling revenue this year.
-By Kate O'Keeffe, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002;
kathryn.okeeffe@dowjones.com