Macau December Gambling Revenue Up 66% On Year At MOP18.88 Billion

Macau's gambling revenue in December surged 66% from a year earlier, capping a year in which the territory's revenue from casino gambling soared 58%, well above forecasts made by analysts and officials earlier in 2010.

Gambling revenue in December totaled MOP18.88 billion (US$2.36 billion), up sharply from MOP11.35 billion a year earlier, according to data from Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

Macau's full-year 2010 gambling revenue rose to MOP188.34 billion from MOP119.37 billion in 2009, when the city was hit by the global economic downturn, a swine flu outbreak and mainland China visa restrictions in the first half of the year.

December's figure was higher than the MOP17 billion-MOP17.5 billion that JP Morgan analyst Kenneth Fong had said analysts expected for the month.

Fong said earlier that December's figure could match or exceed October's record level of MOP18.87 billion. Market estimates of a 20% rise in 2011 gambling revenue appear "too conservative," he added.

Ambrose So, chief executive of Macau's largest casino operator by revenue, SJM Holdings Ltd. (0880.HK), forecast in March that Macau's casino gambling revenue would rise just 13%-15% in 2010.

-By Kate O'Keeffe, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; [e-mail]