UPDATE: Macau June Gambling Revenue Up 52% On Year At MOP20.79 Billion

Gambling revenue in Macau rose 52% in June from a year earlier, government statistics issued Friday show, as visitors from mainland China continued to fuel strong growth in the only place in the country where casino gambling is legal.

Gambling revenue in Macau has been on a tear since the end of 2009 as gamblers continue to place bets despite local government policies aimed at slowing growth to a more measured pace.

Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip as the world's biggest gambling market in 2006 and is poised to rake in five times the Strip's gambling revenue this year.

Gambling revenue in the Chinese territory rose to MOP20.79 billion(US$2.59 billion) last month, up from MOP13.64 billion a year earlier, according to data from Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

June's year-on-year growth rate is the highest this year, but the total revenue recorded fell short of the record high of MOP24.31 billion hit the month before in May, which was bolstered by the holiday season and the strong opening of Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd.'s (0027.HK) new casino resort.

Heavy rain at the end of June may have also cooled play the last few days of the month, wrote David Bain, an analyst at Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc., in a June 30 note to clients.

Still, "the figure should be seen as good," said RBS analyst Philip Tulk. "May and October are statistically off the charts because of the holiday season," he said. June's total was exactly in line with the house's forecast of MOP20.8 billion.

China's "golden week" holidays fall in May and October.

In the January-June period, Macau's gambling revenue rose 45% from a year earlier, following a 58% surge for the whole of last year.

U.S. casino companies Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) and Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) have been benefiting from the fiery pace of growth through their Macau units as revenue in Las Vegas remains sluggish. So has MGM Resorts International (MGM) through a joint venture with a daughter of Macau kingpin Stanley Ho. The venture, called MGM China Holdings Ltd. (2282.HK), debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange June 3.

The three operators compete against Stanley Ho's SJM Holdings Ltd. (0880.HK), the market's largest operator, with about one third of the territory's gambling revenue; Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL), a joint venture co-chaired by Ho's son Lawrence and Australian James Packer; and Galaxy Entertainment Group, controlled by the family of Hong Kong tycoon Lui Che Woo.

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