In Macau and aggregated gross gaming revenues for July reportedly rose by 528.1% year-on-year to just over $1.05 billion despite the continuing presence of a range of anti-coronavirus travel restrictions.

According to a report from GGRAsia citing official data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau regulator, the figure for the 31-day period represented the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year improvements and took the former Portuguese enclave’s associated seven-month tally up by 63.9% to around $7.17 billion. The source detailed that all of this comes after the city experienced a coronavirus-impacted 2020 in which its annual aggregated gross gaming revenues finished 79.3% down at approximately $7.54 billion.

Persisting precautions:

Macau is home to 41 casinos including the iconic Casino Grand Lisboa venue from SJM Holdings Limited as well as Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited’s $3.2 billion Studio City Macau development. The city’s government reportedly reacted to a small June outbreak of coronavirus in neighboring China by introducing a series of fresh safeguards that require arrivals from a number of mainland cities to now quarantine for a minimum of two weeks.

Pessimistic parallel:

GGRAsia reported that the July result nevertheless equated to a decline of about 65% when compared with the just over $3.05 billion recorded for the same month in 2019 before the industry was thrown into turmoil courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic. This unwelcomed situation purportedly peaked in April of last year when Macau chalked up a mere $94.17 million in monthly aggregated gross gaming revenues as visitor number dropped by 99.7% year-on-year to only 11,041.

Refreshing resuscitation:

But the July result was reportedly nonetheless 29.2% higher than June’s finishing tally of some $816.23 million and came after the local industry posted 492.2%, 1,014.4% and 58% year-on-year recoveries for March, April and May respectively. This long-awaited revival purportedly began in February when the sector broke a 16-month downturn to chalk up a 135.6% swell in combined receipts to slightly beyond $913.29 million.

Opportune opening:

Macau last week reportedly welcomed the premiere of the $5 billion Grand Lisboa Palace development from SJM Holdings Limited after over seven years of construction. This mammoth facility features a 290,000 sq ft casino that could eventually play host to as many as 1,200 slots in addition to 500 gaming tables alongside a trio of five-star hotels and a plethora of shops and restaurants.

Continuing constraint:

GGRAsia finished by reporting that mainland China is the only territory to have a largely quarantine-free travel bubble with Macau although the enclave recently introduced a new rule that obliges such tourists to present a negative test for coronavirus that has been issued within the previous 48 hours.