The Macau gaming sector’s gross surplus before taxes in 2024 rose 24.7 percent year-on-year to MOP143.12 billion (US$17.87 billion), though the overall cost of doing business also went up in the same period, and by 18.0 percent. Nonetheless, the improvement in gross surplus came amid a “gradual recovery” in gaming business, according to the Statistics and Census Service’s latest annual “Gaming Sector Survey” published on Wednesday.

The gross surplus equals the gaming sector’s aggregate receipts plus changes in inventories, minus compensation to employees, operating expenses and purchase of goods, commissions and customer rebates, before deducting taxes, according to the statistics service’s definition.

The 2024 gaming sector survey used data collected from nine entities with gaming activities in the city: six casino concessionaires, plus firms involved in either lottery services or sports betting.

In 2024, the Macau gaming sector’s total receipts rose by 23.1 percent year-on-year, to MOP231.45 billion. Of the latter figure, almost 99 percent – or MOP228.36 billion – was generated from “gaming and related services”, which rose by 23.7 percent from 2023.

The sector’s 2024 total expenditure – excluding taxes – rose by 18.0 percent year-on-year to MOP94.37 billion.

Of total sector expenditure, “operating expenses” – mainly costs of complimentary goods and services for customers, such as hotel accommodation as well as food and drink – accounted for circa 43 percent of 2024 business costs.

The gaming sector’s operating expenses grew 28 percent to MOP40.58 billion in 2024.

Aside from operating expenses, the spending category that saw the biggest increase was “purchase of goods, commissions, and customer rebates”. Such expenditure was up 28 percent year-on-year, to nearly MOP23.2 billion.

The data showed that employee compensation amounted to MOP21.49 billion, up 7.0 percent year-on-year. That coincided with an increase in the number of full-time employees hired for the sector. The tally rose 3.1 percent year-on-year to 52,426 in 2024.

The gaming sector’s gross surplus ratio – a measurement gauging the sector’s efficiency in converting receipts into gross surplus – stood at 62.7 percent in 2024, just 0.5 percentage points higher than 2023.

The sector’s gross value added – measuring its contribution to the overall economy – grew by 22.1 percent year-on-year, to nearly MOP164.61 billion.