Number of gaming tables in casinos in Macao 2011-2021
Gaming and gambling in Macao
Macao is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China and gambling has been legal there since the mid-nineteenth century. Since then, the gambling and gaming industry has become a large part of Macao's economy. Alongside with China's economic rise and the development of a rich Chinese upper class, Macao's gaming and gambling industry has seen an enormous boom, generating roughly 7.6 billion U.S. dollars in gross revenue in 2020. As a result, Macao is now known to many as the "Monte Carlo of the Orient" and the Chinese version of the Las Vegas Strip, America's largest gambling market. In fact, revenues from gambling in Macau today are roughly six times higher than in Las Vegas.
Preferred games of fortune in Macao
By the end of 2020, there were 41 casinos in Macao. Within these casinos, gamblers from all over the world play a variety of games of fortune, including roulette, black jack, baccarat, slot machines, Mahjong and poker, among many others. Baccarat, a card game played between two hands, generated by far the most revenue among the games of fortune in 2020 with around 3.36 billion U.S. dollars. There were many more slot machines than gaming tables in Macao's casinos in 2020. With almost nine thousand units, slot machines outweighed gaming tables by almost three thousand. Despite being much larger in number, slot machines made significantly smaller revenue than gaming tables at just 0.43 billion U.S. dollars.