China's Macao Special Administrative Region taxed 6.5 billion patacas (812.5 million US dollars) from the gaming sector in the first half of this year, up 42.2 percent over the year-ago period.

The Macao Finance Services Bureau said on Monday that new casino coming off

stream in the first half year brought the region's government a "considerable amount" of tax inome. In June alone,the government garnered 1.2 billion patacas (150 million US dollars) in tax from the booming gaming industry.

The bureau forecast that bolstered by the growing amount of tourists, the gaming industry is expected to sustain a steady increase in the second half year to contribute the projected target of 10 billion patacas (1.25 billion US dollars) to the government's tax coffer by the year end.

The new era of Macao's gaming industry has already commenced with the opening of the first American casino Las Vegas Sands Macao here in May, which was soon followed by the opening of Hong Kong-invested Galaxy Waldo in July. Under the casino operators' concessions with the Macao government, they pay 35 percent of their gross revenue in tax every year.

Source: Xinhua