Macau Casinos Weather Typhoon Ragasa, Report Six Percent Gaming Revenue Increase
Posted on: October 1, 2025, 09:05h.
Last updated on: October 1, 2025, 10:26h.
- Despite a typhoon, Macau casinos maintained their rally in September
- Typhoon Ragasa generally spared the city, the only place in China where casinos are allowed
Macau casinos were forced to close for 33 hours last month due to a powerful typhoon, but the world’s richest gaming hub emerged unscathed.
As Typhoon Ragasa, a severe Signal No. 10 cyclone, passed by Macau to its immediate south, the Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR) ordered the city’s casinos to shut down. The government-mandated suspension of gaming activities endured for 33 hours. The storm also limited entry in and out of the enclave that’s located just south of Hong Kong in China’s Greater Bay Area.
Despite the loss of more than a full day of play, data from the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reveals that September maintained the city’s gaming rally. The six casino operators won MOP18.28 billion (US$2.28 billion) from players.
September represented a 6% increase in gross gaming revenue (GGR) from the prior year, and marked the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year GGR growth.
Macau Momentum
2025 has been Macau’s best year since the pandemic. Through September, casino revenue totaled more than $22.64 billion. That is 91.5% of the city’s 2019 casino haul during the same nine months.
As for visitation, in the first eight months, the most recently reported statistics show that visitor arrivals totaled 26.9 million people. That’s nearing prepandemic levels, when the region welcomed 27.4 million visitors between January and August 2019.
Macau is no longer only a place where wealthy mainlanders go to gamble, and possibly, move some of their wealth out from underneath the Chinese Communist Party’s tax-heavy regime.
Today, the SAR is a place for leisure tourism with family-friendly attractions like amusement and water parks, cultural fascinations, and interactive draws like the Macau Science Center and TeamLab SuperNature exhibit. Macau has also emerged as a prime destination for K-pop, with headlining acts continuing to make tour stops in the lavish city.
October is primed to further expand gaming, as 1.2 million mainlanders are expected to descend on the city for the October 1-8 Golden Week. The weeklong festivities combine China’s October 1 National Day with the Mid-Autumn Festival. The public holidays afford most workers paid time off, and many are using the period to vacation in Macau.
Typhoon Spares Macau
Macau once again was spared by a major typhoon. As Ragasa spiraled toward China, Macau braced for a major hit. The storm teetered south, however, and largely spared the casino enclave.
Ragasa caused flooding in Macau’s low-lying areas, electricity was cut in certain neighborhoods for safety, and public transportation, including buses and ferry services, was halted, but the city generally emerged unscathed. The city quickly embarked on a cleanup of debris after Ragasa passed to get the area ready for this week’s holiday.
Ragasa most impacted the Philippines, particularly Northern Luzon. The typhoon was blamed for at least 29 deaths and more than $100 million in damage.
Ragasa was the strongest storm so far in the 2025 Pacific typhoon season. The period of peak oceanic activity in the Western Pacific generally runs from late June through early October.
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