Relaxed visa restrictions and the 'Golden Week' holiday period ensured that gross revenues at Macau's casinos increased significantly in October, according to local reports.

The Chinese enclave’s casinos recorded $1.51bn in gross receipts in October, up 40 per cent on the same month in 2008. The figure also beat the record of $1.42bn set in August.

In the first 10 months of the year gross receipts topped $12bn, marking a 3.5 per cent year-on-year increase.