Macau’s casino revenue surged 15% year-over-year in March, with gross gaming income reaching 22.61 billion MOP and signaling a robust recovery that beat market expectations.
"The industry GGR增速 still achieved resilient growth, higher than our forecast," Haitong International analysts said in a note, highlighting the sector's strength outside of peak holiday periods.
The March revenue figure represents a recovery to 87.5% of the levels seen in the same month in 2019. For the first quarter of 2026, gaming revenue increased 14.3% from the prior year. The performance was supported by strong tourism, with visitor arrivals in February climbing 32.6% year-over-year to 4.17 million, a figure 118% of 2019 levels.
The stronger-than-expected results, achieved during a traditionally slow season, reinforce the steady post-pandemic recovery narrative for the world's largest gambling hub. Haitong International projects that the growth will continue, forecasting a 12% year-over-year increase for April's gaming revenue.
Daily gross gaming revenue in March was 729 million MOP, a slight 1% dip from the holiday-boosted February average, but the overall monthly result was up 9.6% from February. The growth indicates that demand remains firm even after the Lunar New Year festivities.
The influx of tourists is a primary driver. Mainland China continues to be the largest source, with 3.29 million visitors in February, a 43.6% increase from the previous year and representing 128.6% of the comparable 2019 figure.
Macau's hospitality sector also saw strong results, with the hotel occupancy rate reaching 94.6% in February. This was a 4.0 percentage point increase from the prior year and 2.7 percentage points higher than in February 2019, according to the Macau Statistics Bureau. The average length of stay for hotel guests held steady at 1.6 nights.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
