China visa crackdown to impact Macau gambling market
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Macau's gaming revenues could fall by as much as 20% this year due to China's crackdown on granting visas to frequent gamblers. The National Immigration Administration has already discouraged 90,000 people who wanted to leave the country to gamble over the course of the last year.
Credit Suisse Group AG estimates that the steps could negatively impact as much as 30% of the VIP and premium-mass aggregated gross gaming revenues earned by the over 40 casinos in Macau. The financial services giant arrived at this estimate following discussions with industry participants including junket agents and operators.
China has increased its efforts at stopping domestic gamblers from travelling to overseas destinations, which include Macau.
Macau's government is considering a proposal to reduce taxes for casino operators that attract significant numbers of overseas tourists from outside of greater China. The former Portuguese enclave is home to some of the world's largest and most famous gambling venues.
Non-Chinese tourists have historically constituted less than 8% of Macau’s foreign visitor pool. They spend about two-thirds less on gambling.
