Macau's income drops as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic in Zhuhai.

Macau's income has fallen again as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The border was closed last week after an epidemic of the virus was found in neighbouring Zhuhai, leading to a significant drop in income. The total amount of money made from gambling was down 53% from the previous seven days.

Revenue Is Once Again Affected By Number of Visitors

In its weekly analysis, brokerage Bernstein noted an increase in gross gaming revenues to MOP$244 million ($30.5 million) from January 17-23 over the previous week. Macau's annual revenue was MOP$114 million ($14.2 million) prior to the outbreak and subsequent restrictions.

The brokerage attributed the decline to stricter border restrictions, including a 24-hour COVID negative test requirement and travel alerts, as reported by Inside Asian Gaming. No new COVID-19 cases were recorded in Zhuhai on Sunday, thus the outbreak appears to be under control.

However, the presence of COVID-positive patients in Hong Kong may pose a problem. Macau is expected to maintain its closed border policy even as the population grows. Macau's income will continue to fall as fewer gamblers from neighbouring areas are able to make the trip.

Macau's VIP gambling declines along with its overall revenue decline. As the junket sector collapsed, VIP options plummeted by almost 50% in December. Experts forecast that Macau's January gross gaming revenues would mark the continuation of a downward trend.

Keeping the Number of Gaming Vendors at Six

Macau's government has announced that there would continue to be just six gaming concessionaires, and this disappointing income report follows shortly after. The present group of operators' 20-year licence will expire in June, prompting the decision.

This time around, licensees will have the freedom to operate for a full decade. Bids can be submitted by the operators to keep their licences valid till 2032. The specifics of the new tendering procedure, however, have not been made public.

Companies with market investments saw their stock prices soar as news of the judgement spread. Both Wynn Macau Limited and MGM China Holdings Limited saw increases of roughly 9% and 11%, respectively. Even more impressive is the 14.6% growth of Sands China Limited.

It would be fascinating to observe if share prices remain stable or fall more as a result of the market's ongoing struggle related to the COVID-19 epidemic and the accompanying decline in revenues.