Macau casino gambling revenue totals $914m in October 2020, the best showing since January but still 72.5% down from same month last year. Last month’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) was the highest since January, when Macau’s over three dozen casinos raked in MOP 22.12 billion. Analysts have attributed last month’s strong increase to the central government’s decision to reactivate as of 23 September its individual visit scheme (IVS) allowing mainland tourists to travel to Macau again. The MGM Casino in Macau has a very impressive atrium that features a cylindrical aquarium with an elaborate octopus like feature overlaying it. The casino like all in Macau is extensive and caters for a variety of games. Their are a number of restaurants to select from and some high end shops.

The Macau government issued a total casino shut down for two weeks starting February 5, midnight.

Casino shut down in Macau

The Macau Government has issued a casino shut down on all its 41 casinos all over Macau. The shut down is expected to last at least two weeks after two new cases of the Novel Coronavirus have been identified within the local casino industry in Macau.

Macau Chief Executive Ho lat Seng announced the news during a press conference last Tuesday afternoon. Based on records, there are ten confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus in Macau.

Casino operators had a dialogue with the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wei Long. All 41 casinos and other gaming establishments are expected to be closed starting February 5, midnight, and will last for at least 15 days.

Controlling the spread of the Novel Coronavirus

The mandate by the Macau government is a pre-emptive measure to regulate the spread of the Novel Coronavirus in the area.

According to the Finance Secretary, all six gaming operators are willing to follow the government’s directive without compromising their employees’ rights.

The casino shut down does not include hotels, restaurants, and shops within Macau’s top tourist spot destinations.

Macau has been known worldwide for its Vegas-like casino lifestyle. Now that a suspension of operation has been issued, there are corresponding consequences that will affect the country’s revenue. But, the government believes that it is for the common good, especially when the health of the people is at risk.

As of now, the shut down was only imposed on casinos and gaming establishment. Macau’s borders are still open, and the tourists are still welcome to visit the country as they please.

The latest update on the Novel Coronavirus are as follows:

Total Casino In Macau Grand

• 20,000 confirmed cases in China
• The death toll stands at 425 people
• Over 170 people are affected in more than 20 countries worldwide

Featured image by Casino.org

The gambling industry is one of the largest financial generators in the world today.

The online gambling industry is proliferating, but it is still not able to offer the experience of going to a land-based casino.

Therefore, a lot of people still enjoy visiting brick and mortar gambling venues, and some of them even travel across the world to do so.

The so-called “gambling cities” generate billions of dollars every year from casinos, sportsbooks, and hotel arrangements. The two cities that are the best at doing this are definitely Las Vegas and Macau.

But which one has more success and deserves to be called the “Capital of Casino Gambling?” That’s what we’ll try to answer in this article by taking a closer look at the information collected by Casino Sites in an interesting infographic.

Total Casino In Macau Hotel

A Comparison of Revenues

Revenues are one of the most important things that we should consider when talking about this topic. It might seem that Macau is at a disadvantage since its surface area is three times smaller than that of Vegas. However, the population of both cities is pretty much the same.

Even though Macau is a much smaller city and has less space to fit gigantic casino resorts, it still has a gambling revenue that is three times higher than that of Las Vegas, which is quite impressive.

The GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue) of Las Vegas is $6.4 billion, 34% of which comes from playing casino games. The rest comes from hotel rooms and restaurants. On the other hand, Macau has a GGR of $28.04 billion. Of this amount, the city will get around $12 billion, which is twice as much as Las Vegas earns in total.

Moreover, Macau’s revenue keeps growing each year. Last year, the revenue rose by 23.7%, which was more than the projected 15-20% growth.

How Much Do They Tax Casinos?

Gambling cities’ main source of income is collecting taxes from casinos. They need to find a proper balance to take enough to keep growing, but not to take too much, or else they will repel the casino operators.

The monthly tax rate in Las Vegas for gambling businesses is 6.75% of GGR, which is not too bad. However, Vegas also requires casinos to pay a fixed annual tax of $250 on each slot machine if they have more than 15.

Moreover, the federal tax is 15-39%, depending on a lot of factors, and there are additional fees as well. So operating a gambling business in Vegas is not easy at all.

On the other hand, Macau has decided to simplify things as much as possible. Gambling businesses need to pay 40% of GGR in taxes to the city, which is a lot. In total, gambling taxes represent 78% of Macau’s income.

Demographics Play a Role

One of the biggest reasons why Macau is taking the role of the world’s capital of casino gambling away from Las Vegas is the demographics. Namely, two-thirds of Macau’s visitors come from China.

China is a growing economy, which makes people willing and excited to spend money on things they could not afford before. The visitors base is much larger as well since China has a population of 1.3 billion people.

On the other hand, 49% of those who visit Las Vegas come from the Western United States. The rest of them come from foreign countries, mostly from Western Europe. A lot of Vegas visitors come on family and sightseeing trips.

They place some bets along the way, but they avoid overdoing it. That affects the revenue numbers, which is why Vegas earns much less than Macau.

Total Casino In Macau Casino

Total Number Of Casino In Macau

You can look at an infographic: https://casinosites.me.uk/lasvegas-vs-macau-infographic/