HONG KONG – Official figures show that casino revenues in top global gambling market Macau fell for an eighth straight month in January as Chinese high-rollers were deterred by the country's economic slowdown and corruption crackdown.
Data posted on the Macau gambling regulator's website Monday showed that gross gambling revenue last month declined 17.4 percent from a year earlier to 23.7 billion patacas ($3 billion).
Annual revenue last year fell 2.6 percent to $44 billion. The decline came after a decade of supercharged growth that began when the former Portuguese colony ended a 40-year casino monopoly, opening the door to foreign operators.
Wealthy mainland Chinese patrons have powered Macau's casino growth but they've stayed away as the economy sputters and Beijing's massive corruption crackdown forces many to rein in lavish spending.
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