Macau now soars to first place worldwide in casino revenues

Macau in China, also known as Macao, has been under Chinese sovereignty and has enjoyed particular prosperity in the past decade, thanks to tourism and also thanks to the building of increasingly more new casinos. It is rightly famed as the largest casino gaming area worldwide. The revenue figures which were released on the development of casino gaming in 2013 testified to the success of the casino business. Until recently Ls Vegas was only a minute step behind Macau in terms of revenues, but in a short span of time the gap between the two has widened, and Macau has the right to pride itself on being the most prosperous casino gaming ground all over the globe. The amount of $45 billion attained by Macau casinos is a peak that would have been a mere distant dream until recently.

The first place Macau has earned thanks to its unsurpassed gaming revenues is not the only reason for pride for it. The city has even exceeded the revenues of the entire casino market in America. The data for 2013 clearly show the unheard of supremacy. The number of casinos in the US is around 12,000. Their cumulative revenues for 2013 were $37.3 billion. It should be noted, of course, that the figures for the US do not include tribal casinos which are not regulated by the individual states and operate only on reservations.

Now the challenge that Macau faced several years ago seems trifling. At that time it seemed really formidable; it was a challenge posed by the Chinese government. The government imposed restrictions on visas which were brought from the mainland of China. The restrictions hurt many large gamblers. They were left outside Macau, and that hurt the developments of the casino dotted city too. But later the visa restrictions were lifted. That brought back large figures on the casino market, and Macau restored its thriving status.

The revenues from the casino business expanded to hit record highs, and the climax was the revenues for 2013, $45 billion. That was a height hitherto unheard of in any market for any year. The figure for 2014 is expected to surpass it, and analysts are confident of that, pointing out that many operators of bigger casino enterprises are working on the renovation of existing casinos or the addition of new properties to their scope.

It can be reminded that the Las Vegas Sands CEO, Sheldon Adelson, did not fear the economic recession in 2008 and ventured to develop in Macau. Several US companies have entered the market to develop and boost the casino gaming market, adding to the current thriving situation. Macau is now a role model for casino businesses worldwide, especially for the other large gaming territories in Asia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Casinos have been mushrooming in Macau, with many hotel casinos opening their doors in 2011. There are plans for a massive complex, currently referred to as Lisboa Palace, estimated to cost $3.9 billion. The new complex is expected to open by 2017.