Macau's July gross gambling revenue jumped 70% from a year earlier and rose 20% from June, picking up after the end of the soccer World Cup, which analysts said had suppressed high-stakes gambling last month.

July revenue totaled MOP16.3 billion (US$2.0 billion) compared with the MOP13.6 billion recorded in June, according to data from Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. It didn't provide the July 2009 figure for comparison.

July's figure is the second-highest so far this year after May's record MOP17.1 billion.

But July may be the last month for easy year over year comparisons, wrote Citigroup analyst Anil Daswani in a recent report, noting monthly gambling revenue hasn't fallen below MOP10 billion since July 2009.

CLSA analysts Huei Suen Ng and Aaron Fischer said they expect gambling revenue in the Chinese territory to rise 34% from a year earlier in the second half of this year following the first half's 67% growth.

Among Macau's six casino license-holders, tycoon Stanley Ho's SJM Holdings Ltd. (0880.HK) continued to lead the market with a share of 32%; followed by Las Vegas Sands Corp. unit Sands China Ltd. (1928.HK) with 19%; and Wynn Resorts Ltd. unit Wynn Macau Ltd. (1128.HK) with 15%, according to CLSA. Compared to the brokerage's June market share figures, SJM gained two percentage points while Wynn and Sands lost two each.

Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL), co-chaired by James Packer and Lawrence Ho, had a market share of 15%; Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. (0027.HK) 12%; and MGM Macau, a joint venture between Pansy Ho and MGM Resorts International (MGM), had 7%, CLSA said.

Solid July revenue figures are significant for two reasons, Nomura analyst Charlene Liu said in a report Friday: first, the performance should help dismiss some of the market's concerns that property cooling measures announced by China in mid-April could have a negative impact on Macau gambling revenue with a three-month delay. Second, a strong July despite typical seasonal weakness will set a positive tone for the next six months, she said.

-By Kate O'Keeffe, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; kathryn.okeeffe@dowjones.com
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