Macau gaming revenue slows - mass lay-off feared
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Macau’s gaming sector is predicted to experience only single-digit year-on-year growth for September 2008, evidence that even China’s boom town has started to feel the pinch.
Xinhua has reported that the city’s gross gaming revenue for the first half of the month reached just MOP3.6 billion (US$454 million), and the whole month is expected to reach between MOP7.2 billion and 7.5 billion (US$907-945 million), citing the Portugal’s Lusa News Agency which quoted gaming operators. These figures would represent growth of 1-5%, year-on-year.
The drop in the gaming revenue growth was largely blamed on the global economic downturn while China’s tightening of its visa rules also factored. The gaming slowdown has caused many to speculate that it will force several small-scale casinos to be closed, leading to mass lay-offs of casino staff. The lay-offs have in fact already begun, with Galaxy Entertainment sacking several casino employees at its smaller casino. The Macanese government however, was quick to deny a ‘domino effect’.
“Gaming revenue growth slowed down… but there are no signs that the sector is shrinking, and the lay-offs are not common for the current stage,” said Tam Pak Yuen, Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance. However, independent experts disagree.
“The near-term economic data and the gross gaming revenues has evidently sounded the alarm for local gaming sector,” said Davis Fong, Director of Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macao.
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