Macau September Gambling Revenue Up 12% On Year At MOP23.87 Billion

   By Kate O'Keeffe 
 

HONG KONG--Gambling revenue in Macau in September rose 12% from a year earlier, picking up from August, but still far slower than the aggressive pace of previous years.

Total revenue in September was 23.87 billion patacas ($2.99 billion) compared with MOP21.24 billion in the same month last year, Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said Thursday. The growth rate was higher than August's 5.5% year-on-year rise, but was below some analysts' expectations for growth as high as 20%.

In the first nine months of the year, revenue rose 15% from the same period in 2011 to MOP223.3 billion.

Gambling revenue has shot up since the end of 2009, but the pace of growth has slowed this year due to a high base of comparison last year, when gambling revenue rose 42%.

Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is legal, is the world's largest gambling center. Last year it earned more than five times the gambling revenue of the Las Vegas Strip.

Write to Kate O'Keeffe at [e-mail]