The increase came despite a year-on-year fall in Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the first three months of 2019, but the two figures are not directly comparable for a number of reasons. They include the fact there is typically a delay between the point where GGR is recorded in Macau casino operations, and the point at which tax is registered by the Macau government as having been paid on such play.
The latest data indicated that revenue from gaming collected so far in the calendar year accounted for about 87.6% of the US$ 4.18 billion the government collected from all sources.
Macau taxes the gross gaming revenue (GGR) of the casinos at a rate of 35% but other levies on casino gaming elevate the effective rate to 39%.
Total tax revenues on the Macau gaming sector include levies on the income of traditional Chinese lotteries, horse racing, instant lotteries and tax on commissions earned by promoters of gambling junkets.
In the 2019 budget, the Macau government had estimated that approximately US$ 12.15 billion would be collected in direct taxation from gaming for this calendar year.
In calculating its budget, the Macau authorities tend to be conservative about estimating the amount of revenue derived from gaming.
Source: GMB / GGR Asia
