HONG KONG (June 1): Macau's gaming revenue plunged again in May as casino operators awaited the opening of borders to spark a recovery after an unprecedented shutdown of the world’s largest gambling hub.

Gross gaming revenue was 1.76 billion patacas in May, down 93.2% from a year earlier, according to data from the Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau. It was better than the median analyst estimate of a 95% fall, and follows a record 97% decline in April.

The results for May represent the eighth straight month of declining revenue, coming after Macau had already been battered by a two-year-long trade war and months of Hong Kong protests. The slump underscores the difficult task of recovering from a 15-day shutdown in February aimed at containing the coronavirus outbreak.

While the pandemic has been curbed in mainland China, Macau, and Hong Kong, casinos are still left with empty gaming tables because of border and visa restrictions, resulting in losses of more than US$1 million a day each. Analysts are hoping controls will be eased starting this month, followed by a summer recovery.

Even with the loosening of restrictions, there will still be “a clear set of risks”, Sanford C Bernstein analyst Vitaly Umansky wrote in a note last month. Health experts are concerned about a second wave of infections, protests are flaring up again in Hong Kong, and the Chinese economy’s recovery has been slow as relations with the US deteriorate.

The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Macau casino operators declined 0.7% in May. That compared with a 6.8% loss in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.