Macau casinos reopen with dim business outlook amid travel curbs, as outlook for year calls for 35 per cent revenue drop

Macau reopened casinos after virus curbs prompted almost two weeks of closure, with the industry’s outlook seen bleak as the Chinese-controlled territory grapples with the effects of Beijing’s “Covid Zero” policy.

While there’s no official guideline on casinos’ operating capacity during the initial period of resumption, it’s likely that they will not open many tables due to a lack of customers, said Stephen Lau, president of the Power of the Macao Gaming Association. Lau’s organisation represents workers in the industry.

The restart may do little to stop Macau’s six licensed casino operators from burning through millions of dollars of cash every day, as China’s suspension of quarantine-free travel discourages visitors from the enclave’s largest source of tourism. Rounds of mass testing and the lockdown have helped curb the local transmission of the virus, and authorities in the city want infections to hold near zero to bolster the case for reopening the border.

Macau on Saturday reported five cases of Covid-19, compared with 146 cases at the peak of the outbreak.

Casinos and other businesses will be operating with conditions including limiting staff numbers to 50% of normal, and disinfection of venues. Activities that require the removal of masks for extended periods of time, such as eating, must not be done indoors unless there’s a separate room for each person. Dining-in at restaurants remains banned.