Macau Tax Take Reaches $5.27B Despite May Decline

Macau’s government collected MOP7.65 billion ($948 million) in gaming taxes in May 2026, a 15.6% month-on-month drop, according to central account data released by the Financial Services Bureau.

For the first five months of 2026, gaming tax revenue reached MOP42.52 billion ($5.27 billion), up 14.6% year-on-year. That figure represents 46% of the government’s full-year budget estimate, with the market ahead of a straight-line annual run rate.

Gaming taxes accounted for roughly 85% of Macau’s total public revenue of MOP49.68 billion ($6.16 billion) during the period. On the expenditure side, the government spent MOP31.11 billion ($3.86 billion), which left a fiscal surplus of MOP18.57 billion ($2.3 billion) at the end of May, up 55% year-on-year and 3.5 times the budgeted amount.

Behind the tax numbers was a solid May at the tables. Gross gaming revenue came in at MOP22.61 billion ($2.8 billion), up 6.7% year-on-year and the strongest May result since the pandemic.

Across the first five months of 2026, GGR reached MOP108.38 billion ($13.44 billion), up 10.9% year-on-year. The market, however, remained 13.8% below the same period in 2019.

💡TGJ Take

The May tax dip does not change the bigger picture: Macau’s fiscal recovery runs ahead of budget because casino revenue has rebounded enough to carry public accounts. For operators and investors, the number that matters most is the 13.8% gap to 2019, not the year-on-year growth rate. Macau has not returned to its pre-pandemic revenue base, and that gap keeps pressure on concessionaires to protect margins while the government remains heavily dependent on gaming taxes.