Sep28
Retrospective of Regulatory Changes in Gambling Industry for September 2021
Macau Gaming Sector Faces Consequences of Coronavirus
February 15, 2020 TamaraTam
The city of coronavirus problems and the situation became more than serious for the local community. Macau tourist numbers continue to fall and the city is already facing enormous pressure. According to the official city report, tourism has declined by 89% compared to last year’s figures.
More About Result
During the first six days of the Chinese New Year celebration, Macau has been visited by only 139,580 individuals from mainland China and 243,204 from additional markets. The day before the close of the celebration, China marked only 21,584 visitors due to restrictions from the local government.
With the spread of coronavirus effects, many flights to and from China have been delayed. Macau International Airport issued the statement indicating that 177 inbound flights and 168 outbound flights wait for additional instructions from authorities. One of the leading companies, Xiamen Airlines, which normally organizes flights five days a week from Macau to the China mainland, has decided to cancel the service. Some claims point out that the flights could only normalize in the next month.
Casino Operation
The escalation of coronavirus has left consequences to the Macau casino industry. Nomura’s Instinet group has organized meetings with local casino operators, who indicated that the gaming floors are “very quiet“. They also added that revenues are not enough to cover the operational expenses, which will continue in the next months. According to a Las Vegas Sands executive, any overturn in the flow of money is not expected before the end of February.
Coronavirus problems prevent individual tourists and tour groups to visit the site, while Chinese mainlanders can enter the gambling venues. JP Morgan Securities’ analysts released this notification:
„Chinese visitors now need to obtain other types of permits/visas to enter Macau (such as transit, business or family visas, collectively ing for 30 percent of Chinese visitors), which could be very inconvenient for gamblers.”
Following the official sources, there have been 7,711 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in mainland China. The virus has proliferated in more than 16 countries worldwide including some of the leading EU regions. The World Health Organization (WHO) understands the problem and has regular consultation on the matter. According to the words of WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus:
„The progress of the virus is worrisome and the numbers hold the potential for a much larger outbreak.”
Source:
„Macau still feeling the sting of the coronavirus“, Erik Gibbs, calvinayre.com, January 30, 2020.
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