Macau to suffer ‘toughest quarter since reopening’ due to FIFA World Cup

EBITDA of US$1.92bn would be Macau’s lowest since the third quarter of 2024

Macau’s casinos are expected to be hit hard by the effects of the FIFA World Cup with analytical firm Citigroup, predicting ‘Macau’s toughest quarter since reopening.’

They are predicting a seven per cent year-on-year drop in revenue in the second half of the year due to the combination of the World Cup keeping players out of the casinos and ‘extremely unfavourable hold rates.’

Analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau are estimating industry EBITDA of US$1.92bn, Macau‘s lowest since the third quarter of 2024. Predicted revenues of MOP$61bn would be the worst since the first quarter of 2025.

They see a strong bounce back after the World Cup due to a packed calendar of non-gaming events such as concerts

Citi’s George Choi and Timothy Chau said: “As there are only four soccer matches remaining in the tournament, we expect Macau GGR to continue to recover. Post-tournament, Macau’s star-studded event calendar should swiftly help Macau GGR return to normal. We keep our July 2026 GGR forecast of MOP21bn (down five per cent year-on-year) unchanged for now, implying GGR to average -MOP$721m per day for the rest of July.”