Macau casino stocks slumped in Hong Kong as the government confirmed that it will completely ban smoking.
Social Affairs and Culture Secretary Alexis Tam said the government will move ahead with a complete smoking ban in casinos despite declining revenues.
That caused a sell off with Wynn Macau down 2.33 per cent, Sands China 3.67, MGM China 3.69 and Galaxy 4.45 per cent. Only SJM escaped, edging up 0.10 per cent. May also marked the 12th straight month of revenue declines.
Steve Wieczynski of Stifel used the latest number to revise revenue forecasts down. He now sees citywide gaming revenues declining 20 to 25 per cent this year. Macau’s Statistics and Census Service reported a 6.8 per cent drop in visitors coming to the city via package tours to 806,000 visitors. Package tours from mainland China fell 6.6 per cent to 648,000.
Source: Fantini's Gaming Report
