Macau gaming up 19% for June on strength of entertainment

The Macau casino industry finished June on a high note. Gross gaming revenue for the month came to MOP21.06 billion ($2.6 billion), up 19% year on year. Added to a robust performance in May – a 5% boost in GGR versus the consensus of 2.7% – it brings total GGR so far to MOP118.77 billion, up 4.4% over 2024.

It’s a welcome development for the Asian gaming mecca, which started the year strongly only to see the momentum dwindle.

Last year, anticipating a bump in tourism, government officials set a GGR target of MOP240 billion for 2025. Industry analysts were even more upbeat. Citi’s George Choi and Timothy Chau projected a 7% increase in GGR year-over-year, for a total of MOP244 billion.

But those hopes soon dimmed. Following lacklustre revenues in January and February, the government adjusted its expectations downward, resetting the yearly total to MOP228 billion.

June boost tied to ‘God of song’

June’s results put Macau on track to meet and surpass the government’s revised forecast – and all because of a 60ish crooner called the “Heavenly King of Cantopop”.

According to Macau Business, JP Morgan analysts credited superstar Jacky Cheung – also known as “the God of song” – for the “unexpected seasonal surge”.

The Citi team concurred. “We conducted our June 2025 table survey on the first night Cheung performed,” wrote Choi and Chau. “And we attribute all the positive findings from our survey to him” – including a 16% increase in premium players that night and a 36% increase in the the average wager.

Vitaly Umansky of Seaport Research Partners, too, cited “strong entertainment events [and] high hold” for the upturn. Bloomberg also tied the revenue boost to “concert fervour”.

Renewed optimism for second half

With more special events planned for July – Cheung’s “60-Plus” concert series continues at Galaxy Macau through Sunday – Seaport expects GGR to rise 10.2% year on year for the month. The investment firm has also upped its forecast for the second half, estimating 6.8% growth for the period and total annual GGR growth of 5.6%.

“Growth should be driven by increased marketing efforts by operators and improving consumer trends in China,” Umansky wrote. “China stimulus and policy measures are likely to help shore up China’s economy and improve consumer confidence later this year.”