Macau September gaming revenue rises 6% but falls short of expectations on typhoon impact

Macau’s casino revenue grew 6% in September but fell short of expectations as a super typhoon forced a temporary industry shutdown, dampening an already seasonally weak month.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) reached MOP 18.29 billion ($2.28 billion), according to data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ). Analysts had forecast about 9% growth. The total was almost MOP 4 billion lower than August’s MOP 22.15 billion, the highest monthly tally since the pandemic, and marked the second-lowest monthly figure this year.

September revenue was also 17% below the same month in 2019, underscoring the lingering gap with pre-pandemic performance.

The slowdown was compounded by Super Typhoon Ragasa, which triggered a 33-hour shutdown of all casinos as authorities issued their highest storm warning.

For the first nine months of 2025, GGR reached MOP 181.34 billion ($22.6 billion), up 7.1% from a year earlier. The government had revised its full-year revenue forecast to MOP 226 billion, leaving MOP 45 billion, or about MOP 15 billion per month, needed in the fourth quarter to hit the target.

Analysts expect a recovery in October, buoyed by China’s Golden Week National Day holiday, one of the busiest tourism periods of the year for the world’s largest gambling hub.

Visitation momentum remains strong. Macau welcomed about 4.2 million visitors in August, equivalent to 116% of 2019 levels. Upcoming entertainment events, including concerts and the NBA China Games featuring the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns, are expected to support tourism and casino earnings into the fourth quarter.

Shares of Macau casino operators edged higher in September, with the Bloomberg Intelligence index up 3.75%, compared with a 7.1% rise in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.