(Bloomberg) -- Casino revenue in Macau missed analyst estimates in June amid concerns of tightening regulation in the world's biggest gaming hub.
Gross gaming receipts in June rose 25.9 percent to 19.99 billion patacas ($2.49 billion), according to data released by Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau Saturday. That compares with the median estimate for a 30 percent increase in a Bloomberg survey of 11 analysts and follows a 24 percent jump in May.
The growth in gaming revenue is the highest since February 2014 and reflects the trough the industry was struggling to emerge from last June, when receipts were the lowest since 2010. Still, policy risks remain as Macau's government and Chinese authorities put in new regulations to deter capital outflows from the mainland, including facial recognition technology on automated teller machines to curb money laundering.
The arrest by police of 17 suspects involved in proxy betting in mid-June also suggests stricter enforcement of regulations.
Casinos also face a setback in expansion attempts in China, after a Shanghai court in June convicted 19 Crown Resorts Ltd. current and former staff for illegally promoting gambling on the mainland. The convictions coincide with a planned new wave of Asian casinos, from Japan to Australia, that are poised to make a fresh push to attract business from China.
Bloomberg Intelligence's index of Macau gaming stocks rallied 26 percent this year through Friday. Wynn Macau Ltd. surged 48 percent in the period, while Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. jumped 40 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Daniela Wei in Hong Kong at jwei74@bloomberg.net, Lulu Yilun Chen in Hong Kong at ychen447@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: K. Oanh Ha at oha3@bloomberg.net, John McCluskey, Iain Wilson
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