Casino News

Revenue boost for Macau casinos

2009-04-20 17:20:54

Macau's casinos have seen an increase in revenue in the first quarter of 2009, it has emerged.

Having struggled last year, gaming sites experienced a jump of more than eight per cent, the Macau Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau revealed.

This equated to total revenues of 26 billion patacas ($3.2 billion), although the figure was still around 13 per cent lower than a year earlier.

The region is the only one in China in which gambling is legal and has been hurt by visa restrictions as well as the global economic downturn.

However, the return to growth could indicate a recovery and potentially lead to stalled construction projects being resumed.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that a number of casino bosses had met to discuss ways to boost revenue in Macau.

They included Las Vegas Sands chief executive Sheldon Adelson and Stanley Ho - chairman of SJM Holdings, Macau's largest casino operator.