Macau Has Collected $8.78 Billion in Gaming Taxes This Year

The government of Macau has taken in more than $8.78 billion in taxes made from the revenues of casinos as of August 30th, 2018, up 17% from the year prior.

The revelation was made by the Macau Financial Services Bureau, and showed that the higher numbers were due to more play from the Chinese middle class, as casinos have begun focusing more on casual play than the lucrative VIP market that funded the growth of Macau for years. Macau hauls in taxes on lotteries, racing fees, and commissions paid by operators.

Macau casinos pay a 35% tax on Gross Gaming Revenues, and for the first eight months casinos brought in $25 billion in revenues, which is also up 17.5% from the year prior. The government is expecting GGR for the year to eclipse $28.49 billion.

Macau is the world's largest gaming market, but was negatively impacted by Typhoon Mangkhut last month, which forced all casinos in the former Portuguese to close for 33 hours. Despite this, the outlook for the rest of the year remains optimistic, continuing the rebound of the market.