Macau, China, July 1, 2026 (Lusa) - Macau’s casinos generated more than 18.5 billion patacas (€1.96 billion) in June, the lowest figure of the year and a year-on-year change of −12.1%, authorities announced on Wednesday.
The month also saw a 18% drop compared with the 22.6 billion patacas (€2.39 billion) recorded in May, according to figures from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).
Despite this adjustment, in the first half of the year, the territory’s gambling industry generated nearly 126.9 billion patacas (€13.4 billion), an increase of 6.8% year-on-year.
Investment bank Citigroup noted in a previous assessment that the World Cup was affecting Macau’s gaming results in June, due to reduced availability of Chinese players to gamble in the territory.
Analysts believe that betting on the tournament, which runs until 20 July in Canada, the United States and Mexico, is leading to a reduction in the budget that players normally set aside for the territory’s gaming tables.
According to Citigroup, the expansion of the World Cup, which for the first time features 48 teams and a total of 104 matches, could have a greater impact on Macau’s gambling sector compared to previous editions, which were shorter and featured fewer matches.
Sports betting is not permitted in mainland China, but many punters turn to illegal online platforms to bet on sporting events.
Last month, Hong Kong authorities announced the arrest of 19 people, including coaches and players, suspected of being involved in a scheme to fix football match results and engage in illegal betting.
The Macau Lottery and Sports Betting Society (Macau Slot), which holds the sole licence to operate football and basketball betting in the territory, recorded total gross revenue of 163 million patacas (€17.3 million) in the first quarter of this year, with over 1 billion patacas (€106 million) in bets placed during the same period.
Macau ended last year with total gambling revenue of 247.4 billion patacas (around €26.3 billion), up 9.1% on the previous year (226.8 billion patacas or €24.1 billion).
As the gambling capital of the world, the semi-autonomous city is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.
Six concessionaires operate in the territory — MGM, Galaxy, Venetian, Melco, Wynn and SJM — which renewed their concession contracts in December 2023 for the following ten years, with the new contracts coming into force on 1 January 2024.
NCM/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
