Macao's revenue from direct gaming tax reached 6.58 billion patacas (822 million US dollars) in the first five months, an increase of 24.7 percent from the same period of last year.

Statistics released Wednesday by the Finance Service Bureau showed that the direct gaming tax payments made up 77.2 percent of the government's total income between January and May.

Macao's 17 casinos pay 35 percent of their gross revenues as direct tax to the government, according to official figures.

The government's total revenue in the period amounted to 8.52 billion patacas (1.65 billion US dollars), a year-on-year growth of 24.9 percent, the figures showed.

Source: Xinhua