China’s economy may be struggling, but that doesn’t mean the country’s residents aren’t interested in gambling. Renewed visitors have helped Macau recapture the title as the no. 1 gambling market in the world, once again overtaking Las Vegas. The island had held the distinction since 2007, although was slow to rebound after the pandemic.

Many are once again heading to the island after COVID protocols were finally relaxed in China. Macau saw 1.9 million tourists from mainland China in July. That is nearing pre-pandemic levels of about two million per month that the island saw in 2019. By contrast, only about 7,000 visited about the same time a year ago.

“Macau’s rebound is in contrast to China’s weak economy, where consumer prices have tipped into deflation,” the Wall Street Journal notes. “The former Portuguese colony – one of the last places to relax COVID controls – has followed the trajectory of other gambling meccas, from Las Vegas to Singapore, where demand surged after restrictions ended.”

COVID Lockdowns Over, Gambling Ensues

That sense of returning to normalcy has led to some massive numbers. Seeking Alpha reports that gross gaming revenue had grown 4,086% year-over-year by July to $2.1 billion. That included a 9.6% increase from June numbers and was the highest since the pandemic. However, that is still about 30% short of pre-pandemic gross gaming revenue from July 2019.

Macau is the only region in China that allows gambling and casinos. The island functions under a different legal structure than the mainland and has been known to attract wealthy gamblers from China and other parts of the world, including poker players like Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey.

However, the resurgence on the island appears to be driven by typically smaller-stakes gamblers, rather than the “whales” that many properties cater to for wagering big bucks. Some of those lower-level gamblers who may have been yearning to gamble also appear to be losing larger-than-normal amounts.

“While high-rollers are fewer in number than during Macau’s heyday a decade ago,” the Journal reports, “even low-end gamblers typically bet more than $1,500 at the tables per hour and higher-end, mass-market players lose on average more than $2,500 a day.”

Although Macau has retaken Las Vegas as the biggest gambling market, Nevada continues to report record gambling revenue figures. In August, the state was able to reach the $1 billion mark in revenue for the 30th straight month.

The state remains on pace to beat 2022’s best-ever revenue total of $14.8 billion, which was itself an increase of 10.5 percent over 2021. That is still only one-third as much cash as Macau’s best ever year in 2013, when casinos reported revenues totaling $45 billion.