Macau gambling tax collection plummets by more than 50 percent in April

April tax income collected directly from gaming operators by the Macau SAR Government decreased by 53.9 percent year-over-year to barely MOP$1.48 billion (US$183 million), showing a considerable decline in gaming revenues in previous months.

According to data supplied by the Financial Services Bureau, April's gaming tax was 50.1% less than March's tax of MOP$3.0 billion (US$371 million) and compared to tax of MOP$3.21 billion (US$397 million) in April 2021.

Macau's gross gaming revenues hit an 18-month low of MOP$3.67 billion (US$459 million) in March and a 19-month low of MOP$2.68 billion (US$335 million) in April, as previously reported by IAG.

Direct gaming taxes for the first four months of 2022 totaled MOP$10.21 billion (US$1.26 billion), a decrease from MOP$12.38 billion (US$1.53 billion) a year earlier and represented just 20.5% of the MOP$49.76 billion (US$6.16 billion) the government had projected for FY22.

The government had earlier reported that tax income received directly from Macau's casino operators in 1Q22 amounted to MOP$8.73 billion (US$1.08 billion).

Macau's gaming taxes consist of a 35% "special gaming tax" paid directly to the Macau government and a 4% "other charges" comprised of a 1.6 percent levy that funds the Macao Foundation's cultural, social, economic, educational, scientific, academic and philanthropic activities and a 2.4 percent contribution (1.4 percent for SJM) to the urban construction, tourism and social security fund.

By fLEXI tEAM