The Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has published its monthly figures for the month of May 2026.
The gross gaming revenue (GGR) increased 6.7% year-on-year to MOP22.6bn (US$2.80bn), marking yet another consecutive month of GGR growth.
This represents a healthy rebound following the MOP19.9bn figure recorded during April 2026 and is slightly higher than the predicted figures published last month.
The total GGR so far this year is MOP108.4bn, marking a 10.9% increase compared to this point last year.
This appears promising on the surface, particularly when the recent satellite closures are taken into consideration.
In 2021, there were 42 casinos operating in Macau, split between SJM, Galaxy, Wynn, Melco, MGM and Sands.
Since then, Macau revised its gaming laws and began closing satellite casinos for good, with the final one closing its doors at midnight on 1 January 2026.
As of June 2026, there are 20 casino properties operating in the region, with 6,000 gaming tables and 12,000 slot machines split between them.
Zhonglu Zeng, President of the Asia-Pacific Association for Gambling Studies (APAGS), explained that high-end VIP gaming has become the primary force behind Macau’s ongoing recovery.
Although the full official tourism statistics for May have not been released, the data that is available shows relative stability in the region.
Macau 2025 vs 2026 TYD Revenue (MOP million)
Hotel occupancy rates have been consistently above 84% during the last 12 months, with most months achieving over 90% since May 2025.
So far in 2026, visitor arrivals have also seen healthy numbers, with every month seeing at least 3.4 million visitors and at least 2 million visitors for same-day trips.
The average spend for same-day visitors during Q1 2026 was MOP2,179, and this increased to MOP3,574 for people staying at least one night.
According to the Macau Government Tourism Office, the Labor Day holiday from 1-5 May brought in 873,000 visitor arrivals, an annual increase of 2.7%.
The same-day volume of visitors peaked at about 248,000 on 2 May, the highest record of single-day visitor arrivals since records began.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Nevada posted a 5.3% increase in GGR to nearly $1.3bn for the month of April.
During Labor Day, 725,000 visitors came from the mainland, while 94,000 were from Hong Kong, 42,000 were international and 12,000 came from Taiwan
