The casinos in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, generated the equivalent of more than €20 billion last year. This represents an increase of more than 300% over the previous year. But how many tourists will come to Macau in 2023, and what is the reason for the popularity of the local gaming venues?

The Macau gaming industry can look back on an extremely successful year. The local gaming authority announced earlier this month that gross gaming revenue (GGR) totalled over 180 billion Macau patacas (MOP). This is equivalent to around €20.6 billion. Just last November we published an interesting article on GambleJoe about whether gaming revenue is higher in Macau or Las Vegas.

Gross gaming revenue up over 300% in one year

Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, located approximately 50 kilometres west of Hong Kong. Its proximity to Hong Kong, a metropolis of 7 million people, is probably one of the reasons why Macau is such an attractive location for casinos. After all, gambling has been completely banned on the Chinese mainland since the Chinese Communist Party came to power.

Last year, Macau's casinos were no longer subject to the restrictions imposed by the global coronavirus crisis. Borders were not reopened until 2023. As a result, casino gaming revenue increased by an impressive 334% from 2022 to 2023.

In total, more than 28 million tourists visited Macau in 2023. Unsurprisingly, many visitors came from mainland China. Of course, with such a large number of tourists, it is not surprising that incidents can occur. In May last year, for example, we reported on a mass brawl in a Macau casino.

There are currently over 30 casinos in Macau. The Chinese Special Administrative Region has had the world's largest gambling market since 2006. It is also home to the Venetian Macau, the largest casino in the world at 550,000 square metres. Current estimates put the population of Macau at just under 700,000. Macau was a Portuguese colony until 1999.

Casino operators forced to increase non-gaming investment

It is interesting to note that Macau's casino operators are now being forced to invest more money in the non-gaming sector as a result of last year's huge gaming revenues. A recent licensing agreement stipulates that from a gaming revenue of MOP 180 billion, non-gaming marketing expenditure must be increased by a fifth. In this way, the authorities seem to want to ensure that there is no over-dependence on the gaming sector.

Image source:https://pixabay.com/de/photos/kasino-unterhaltungsm%C3%B6glichkeiten-936910/ 

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