Macau Gaming Revenue Drops to Lowest Level Since 2025

Macau’s casino sector recorded its most challenging quarter since border restrictions were lifted, with second-quarter 2026 earnings declining across key metrics. Industry gross gaming revenue reached 61.03bn MOP ($7.6bn), marking a sequential decrease and the smallest quarterly total since early 2025.

Financial Performance and Margin Compression

Second-quarter EBITDA is projected at $1.92bn, representing a seven percent year-on-year decline and the lowest figure since the third quarter of 2024. Quarter-on-quarter EBITDA fell by twelve percent, while profit margins contracted by approximately 1.5 percentage points to 25.8 percent. Gross gaming revenue remained stable compared to the same period last year but decreased by seven percent from the previous quarter.

Market Factors and Analyst Assessment

Citigroup analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau identified the FIFA World Cup, which commenced in mid-June, as a primary contributor to the reduced performance. The report also highlights unfavorable VIP hold rates, particularly during April, which analysts described as "significantly unfavorable." Lower-than-expected VIP hold rates created operating deleverage, cited as the main cause of the margin compression. Financial data was provided by Citigroup.