Macau is “Strongest Gaming Market in the World”.

Macau’s gaming industry is growing at an extraordinary rate, reports confirmed this week. The ex Portuguese colony’s economy is shown to have enjoyed a huge boost as a result of the activity with real gross domestic product increasing 26.4 % in last year alone. The latest survey has revealed that gaming revenue has also risen by 44% for the first half of 2011 – making Macau’s profit four times the size of that accrued in the gambling capital, Las Vegas.  MGM China has even gone so far as to call Macau “the strongest gaming market in the world”.

The Galaxy Macau represents the region’s most high profile newcomer – an arrival which has created some 8,000 jobs for employees in the area. Featuring three hotels with 2,200 rooms, a 39,000 square meter gaming floor and a magnificent rooftop beach, the $2 billion complex opened in May earlier this year making it one of them most significant venues to grace the Cotai Strip so far. China Holdings, which is currently responsible for a casino in downtown Macau, will be hoping to make its mark on the scene when it launches a new casino later this year.

Experts, meanwhile, have warned that operators should prepare themselves for more modest takings in the months ahead. Shares in MGM China have fallen 26.5% since the start of last month whilst other brands such as Sands China, Wynn Macau and Galaxy have also dropped dramatically. Analysts are now predicting that gaming revenue will grow at a rate of 30% in the second half of 2011 whilst others have noted that the recession could see casino revenue slow by 10 to 20%.