Entertainment <\/p>\n
Entertainment contributed to a 19% rise in GGR at Macau casinos last month. Analysts credit pop legend Jackie Cheung for the boost.<\/strong><\/p>\n 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 \u2013 a 5% boost in GGR versus the consensus of 2.7% \u2013 it brings total GGR so far to MOP118.77 billion, up 4.4% over 2024.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a welcome development for the Asian gaming mecca, which started the year strongly<\/a> only to see the momentum dwindle.<\/p>\n Last year, anticipating a bump in tourism, government officials set a GGR target of MOP240 billion<\/a> for 2025. Industry analysts were even more upbeat. Citi\u2019s George Choi and Timothy Chau projected a 7% increase in GGR year-over-year, for a total of MOP244 billion.<\/p>\n But those hopes soon dimmed. Following lacklustre revenues in January and February, the government adjusted its expectations<\/a> downward, resetting the yearly total to MOP228 billion.<\/p>\n June\u2019s results put Macau on track to meet and surpass the government\u2019s revised forecast \u2013 and all because of a 60ish crooner called the \u201cHeavenly King of Cantopop\u201d.<\/p>\n According to Macau Business<\/a>, JP Morgan analysts credited superstar Jacky Cheung \u2013 also known as \u201cthe God of song\u201d \u2013 for the \u201cunexpected seasonal surge\u201d.<\/p>\n The Citi team concurred. \u201cWe conducted our June 2025 table survey on the first night Cheung performed,\u201d wrote Choi and Chau. \u201cAnd we attribute all the positive findings from our survey to him\u201d \u2013 including a 16% increase in premium players that night and a 36% increase in the the average wager.<\/p>\n Vitaly Umansky of Seaport Research Partners<\/a>, too, cited \u201cstrong entertainment events [and] high hold\u201d for the upturn. Bloomberg<\/a> also tied the revenue boost to \u201cconcert fervour\u201d.<\/p>\n With more special events planned for July \u2013 Cheung\u2019s \u201c60-Plus\u201d concert series continues at Galaxy Macau through Sunday \u2013 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%.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowth should be driven by increased marketing efforts by operators and improving consumer trends in China,\u201d Umansky wrote. \u201cChina stimulus and policy measures are likely to help shore up China\u2019s economy and improve consumer confidence later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nJune boost tied to \u2018God of song\u2019<\/h2>\n
Renewed optimism for second half<\/h2>\n