Macau casinos see a 29,2% increase in revenue in July.

According to data published by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), casinos recorded revenues of 149.340 billion patacas (15,6 billion euros) from January to July, an increase of 18,9% compared to the first seven months of last year.

July marked the 12th consecutive month of growth in revenue for the gaming industry, the main pillar of the economy of the Macau Special Administrative Region.

This month saw the largest annual increase in percentage terms since the start of the recovery in casino revenues, that is, since August of last year put an end to a cycle of 26 consecutive months of annual declines.

In 2017, monthly gaming revenues grew consistently by double digits compared to the same months of the previous year, with the exception of the first month of the year (+3,1%), but only above 20% in May (+23,7%), June (+25,9%) and now July (+29,2%).

July also had the second-best performance in terms of gross revenue, surpassed only by February (22.991 million patacas or 2,415 billion euros at the current exchange rate), a month that is usually strong due to the Chinese New Year period.

Despite the industry's recovery, which began last summer, Macau's casino revenues fell for the third consecutive year in 2016, registering a 3,3% drop, following a 34,3% decline in 2015 and a 2,6% drop in 2014.

Dragged down by the performance of the gaming sector, Macau's economy contracted in 2016 for the third consecutive year, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falling 2,1% in real terms, as the recovery in industry proved insufficient to allow for a full rebound. This result represented a significant improvement after the 21,5% decrease in 2015.

In 2014, Macau's GDP fell by 1,2% in real terms, according to revised data, marking the first decline since the transfer of sovereignty from Portugal to China in 1999, driven by the beginning of the downward trend in casino revenues.

In line with the gaming industry's performance, Macau's economy has been showing signs of recovery. According to official estimates released at the end of May, Macau's GDP grew by 10,3% in real terms in the first quarter of the year.

In February, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its growth forecast for Macau's economy this year from 0,2% to 2,8%. In May, the credit rating agency Moody's maintained Macau's rating at Aa3 and changed its outlook on the economy from "negative" to "stable," considering that the financial "buffers" are sufficient to mitigate economic shocks.

Macau, considered the world's gambling capital, is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.

At the end of March, it had 6.423 tables and 16.018 slot machines, distributed across 39 gaming areas.

Heavily dependent on casinos, the Chinese Special Administrative Region has long aspired to diversify its economic fabric.

One of the objectives is to diversify the gaming industry, moving from the VIP segment to the mass market, to make it less dependent on high rollers. ( Jornal de Negócios – With Bloomberg)