Macau gaming revenue falls for 10th straight month, down 39pc in March

Macau's gaming revenue fell for the 10th straight month in March and suffered its second-worst year-on-year decline as Beijing continues to crack down on corruption.

Gross gaming revenue last month plunged 39.4 per cent to 21.49 billion patacas, according to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of Macau.

That was the second-worst drop ever after February's 48.6 per cent plunge. In contrast, revenue had jumped 40.3 per cent in February last year.

With the poor showing in February and March, Macau's gross gaming revenue has fallen 36.6 per cent to 64.78 billion patacas in the first quarter, the worst quarterly performance on record. In contrast, revenues had risen 19.8 per cent in the first quarter of last year.

"The near-term dynamics still don't look good. We now look for an 18 per cent drop in gross gaming revenue this year, well below current consensus," said a JP Morgan report.

"It's going to be a very hard year for Macau. What's really pulling down the figures are political factors. China's anti-corruption drive is stopping VIP guests from coming," said John Bruce, Macau director of Hong Kong risk consultancy Hill & Associates.