MACAU – Gaming taxes estimated at US$11.2 billion for 2020
Slot machines GGR was just under US$1.4 billion with only 5.1% of overall casino revenue
The Macau government’s budget proposals put forward the estimate that it will collect MOP91 billion (about US$11.2 billion) in gaming taxes in 2020, suggesting no growth in the coming year. This appears to be a conservative estimate, especially as authorities have already collected more than MOP85.6 billion in gaming tax revenue in the first nine months of 2019.
Earlier this month, Fitch Ratings said it expects Macau gross gaming revenue growth to be in the low single digits in 2020, with strength in the mass market offsetting flat VIP growth. The Macau government collects a 35 percent tax on casino gaming revenues, but other levies raise the effective tax rate to about 39 percent.
Slot makers call for profit sharing to be allowed in Macau
Last week, during the day two of the MGS Summit in a conference which is part of the MGS Entertainment Show 2019, at the Venetian Macao, valid comments were made during a panel session on how electronic gaming machines could help the Macau casino industry to diversify its offer to customers, and increase revenue and returns for everyone.
Manufacturers of electronic gaming machines say that Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau should consider allowing profit-sharing agreements between slot-machine suppliers and casino operators. In addition, they also call on the Macau casino regulator to speed up approval of new products.
Ken Jolly, Scientific Games Corp’s managing director for Asia, said: “Earnings have been going up, but slowly, so Macau remains a relatively small market for slots.”
In the first three quarters of 2019, Macau gross gaming revenue (GGR) from slot machines was just under MOP11.3 billion (US$1.4 billion), up 1.2 percent year-on-year. Slot machines accounted for just 5.1 percent of Macau’s overall casino revenue in the January to September 2019 period, according to official data; whereas in the United States market, that figure stands above 50 percent.
