Macau could post its first gross gaming revenue loss in over three years when results are announced tomorrow. Analysts from both Deutsche Bank and RBC made the projections in what has seen the month dictated to by a typhoon. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli’s investors note read that revenue for the first 29 days of the month was flat, adding that that it will end with a “negative growth rate”. John Kempf, analyst at RBC, meanwhile, stated that revenue could drop by as much as 7 percent following typhoon Vicente, the strongest to hit Macau since 1999. In the first 29 days of July, Kempf reported the enclave reached HK$20.9 billion in revenue and stated had there not been a typhoon July would have been up 3 percent.
A table cap put in place by the government won’t be as stringent as first thought so as to not stifle gaming industry growth. The Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance confirmed to Portuguese newspaper Ponto Final that the 3 percent cap won’t be strictly enforced. Instead of only allowing that amount per year, they will take away from the amount permitted by 2023 – expected to be 1,650 new tables – in the hope it will encourage new casinos to open up.
Macau’s Office for Personal Data Protection didn’t give Sands China permission to transfer files to the U.S.A. The office said that it held a meeting with representatives from the Venetian Macau in which they never gave the “green light” for documents to leave the enclave. It has since commenced an investigation into the issue to see if the company breached any of the rules. The information comes after ProPublica.org, an investigative website, produced documents showing that the material had been transferred to the US.
