Macau Casino Recovery Continues, October Marks Best Gaming Month Since 2019
The six gaming licensees reported their strongest month since the COVID-19 epidemic in October, continuing the Macau casino boom.
Gross gaming revenue (GGR), or revenue from "games of fortune," as the ordinance refers to table games and slot machines, came to MOP24.086 billion (US$3.01 billion), according to the city's Gaming and Inspection Coordination Bureau. October was the best month for gaming in the enclave since October 2019 before the epidemic.
October 2025 surpassed August, which had been the highest month for gaming following the coronavirus, with $2.76 billion in casino winnings. Macau casino revenue has increased year over year for nine straight months following a sluggish start.
October was 15.9% better than the previous year. 11.7% year-over-year growth was the median analyst projection. The $3.01 billion from last month was 91.2% of the $3.3 billion GGR from October 2019.
Golden Week Brings Wealth
Golden Week, the October 1–8 holiday commemorating the People's Republic of China's foundation on October 1, 1949, benefits October every year. Most employees receive paid time off during the weeklong celebration, which encourages travel to China's two special administrative areas, Macau and Hong Kong, as well as throughout the mainland.
Over 1.3 million visitors visited Macau over the course of the eight days, according to the city's tourism office. There were 873,500 visitors from the mainland.
If it weren't for a typhoon disruption in late September that forced Macau's casinos to close for 33 hours so that people could stay put, October probably would have been even better in terms of visitor arrivals and gaming income.
With the exception of some flooding in low-lying regions, Typhoon Ragasa mostly spared Macau, but it severely damaged Guangdong, a nearby Chinese province. Many trip plans for Golden Week were probably canceled because to the extensive devastation throughout the region, with Yangjiang being one of the hardest-hit places.
The Macau casino rebound was more than sustained in October. It contributed to what many predict would be a robust end to the city's biggest post-pandemic economic recovery.
GGR has increased by 8% over the first ten months compared to 2024, a difference of almost $1.91 billion.
China's Sturdy Economy
Concerns about uncertainty have been raised regarding the second-largest economy in the world. Concerns about declining domestic expenditure, US tariffs, and slower exports were frequently mentioned.
Analysts claim that China has mostly weathered the economic challenges as 2025 draws to a close.
"Better-than-expected third-quarter GDP growth of 4.8% year over year kept China’s 5% annual growth target within reach. Robust export activity continued to support industrial production despite mounting global trade uncertainty,” Vanguard Senior Economist Grant Feng wrote in an October economic outlook.
Growing international trade obstacles are a major problem for China's economy in the near future, according to Feng. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump reported that their meeting last week went well. According to reports, the two leaders reached a number of agreements, such as a temporary agreement for access to rare earth minerals and the restart of US soybean sales to China.
Tensions between the two nations should decrease after Trump agreed to reduce his tariffs on China due to fentanyl. According to reports, Xi consented to collaborate with Trump on the lethal fentanyl issue. When it comes to the precursor chemicals needed to create fentanyl, China is the biggest exporter in the world. Because of this, Trump had previously suggested imposing tariffs on Chinese imports that might reach 100%.
