Macau's casino revenues fell in August for the third consecutive month, with the sector collecting 21.9 billion patacas (2.34 billion euros), down 1.2% from August 2025. This is the first time since 2021, during the covid-19 pandemic, that the territory has recorded three consecutive months of year-on-year decline in gaming revenues.
Analysts attributed these drops to the impact of the Football World Cup, which ran from June 11 to July 19, reducing the budget that players normally set aside for Macau's tables. Revenues had already recorded year-on-year declines of 12.1% in June and 8.4% in July.
Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal, operating six concessionaires in the territory. The gaming industry closed 2025 with revenues of 247.4 billion patacas, the highest value since 2019, but the government's 2026 budget forecasts revenues of 236 billion patacas, which would represent a decline of 4.61%. The revenue record was reached in 2013, with 360.7 billion patacas.
Casinos represented almost half (47.3%) of Macau's Gross Domestic Product in 2025, rising to 74.1% when tourism is included. Gambling taxes represented 84.6% of the region's total public revenues in the first seven months of the year, and casinos employed approximately 66,100 people, equivalent to 17.6% of the employed population.
