Macau gambling revenue falls 12%

HONG KONG –- As reported by The Wall Street Journal: "Macau's casino gambling revenue in the second quarter fell 12.2% from a year earlier to 25.62 billion patacas ($3.21 billion), and was down 2.4% from the previous quarter, the city's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said.

"The regulator didn't elaborate on the figures it issued on its Web site.

"But analysts said visa restrictions introduced by the Chinese government have reduced the number of visitors from mainland China and hit gambling revenue in the special administrative region.

"Since the middle of 2008, Beijing has tightened restrictions on visits to Macau in an apparent attempt to stop civil servants from gambling and curb money laundering.

"Macau's casino gambling revenue fell 12.5% to 51.87 billion patacas in the first half ended June 30, from 59.26 billion patacas a year earlier..."

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