Macau Casinos Maintain Recovery as March Gaming Revenue Climbs to $2.45 Billion

Posted on: April 1, 2025, 08:59h. 

Last updated on: April 1, 2025, 09:08h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Macau casinos won $2.45 billion in March 2025
  • Gaming revenue in the Chinese city remains below pre-COVID levels
  • Macau casinos are diversifying to appeal to more people than just gamblers

Macau casinos maintained their years-delayed COVID-19 recovery in March as gaming win continued to inch closer to 2019 levels.

Macau casinos gaming revenue GGRMacau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reports that the six casino operators in the Chinese enclave combined to win MOP19.65 billion (US$2.45 billion) from gamblers last month. That marked a 0.8% year-over-year improvement and pushed gross gaming revenue (GGR) year-to-date to 0.6% higher than the same three-month period in 2024.

March represented about 76% of the MOP25.84 billion that the same six casinos won in pre-pandemic March 2019. Last month was the best March since the coronavirus emerged in China six years ago.

March was 0.4% lower than February when GGR totaled $2.46 billion. February, though having three fewer calendar days than March, benefitted from China’s Lunar New Year, the national holiday that affords most mainlanders paid time off.

Macau Casino Revenue Outlook

Gaming analysts focused on Macau, the only place under Chinese control where slot machines and table games are allowed, expected a slow start to 2025. Permission to offer gaming was grandfathered into the Special Administrative Region after Portugal handed it back to China around the turn of the century. Looking ahead, analysts predict a mounting recovery.

Citigroup maintains its forecast of 4-9% GGR year-over-year growth for 2025, or $29.4 billion to $30.8 billion. Sands, Galaxy, MGM, Wynn, Melco, and SJM won $36.4 billion in 2019, which was a 3.4% decline from 2018.

Macau’s gaming resort operators continue to invest in nongaming amenities to lure a new segment of mainlanders to the hub, which is primarily known for its abundance of casinos, and which is known as “Las Vegas of Asia.” Similar to how Las Vegas moved away from being only a gaming destination into a luxury entertainment capital with attractions for the whole family and plenty to do without ever wagering a bet, Macau is following suit in overhauling its attractiveness.

The six firms are required to invest $19.3 billion into their properties during the life of their 10-year gaming licenses that run through 2032. The bulk of the money, about $16 billion, must go to projects outside the casino spaces.

The operators are investing in sports programs, health and wellness, amusement and theme parks, art museums, theatres, and public gardens.

MGM Recycling Playing Cards

One major difference between Las Vegas and Macau is that in the Asia gambling capital, card games, not slots, reign supreme.

Baccarat, a simple game of chance that has a low house edge, commands the bulk of the tables. With most baccarat games played with six to eight decks of 52-card decks, and thousands of baccarat tables in play across Macau, waste is substantial when a company like MGM decides to bring in fresh cards.

The Las Vegas-based gaming giant, which holds one of the six gaming licenses in Macau through its Asian subsidiary, MGM China, launched an initiative this week to recycle its used playing cards in Macau. MGM revealed a partnership with a Shenzhen-based tech firm to recycle its playing cards into eco-friendly packaging.

This groundbreaking initiative gives new life to our used playing cards. It empowers the circular economy and supports Macau’s development into a low-carbon, diversified economy. It sets a new standard for sustainable growth in the integrated resort industry,” said Keith Lei, MGM’s senior vice president of human resources and sustainability.

Across the region, Macau casinos are said to burn around five tons of playing cards annually.