Macao's income from direct gaming tax is expected to reach 16 billion patacas (US$2 billion)this year, a new high in history, local media reported Wednesday.

The Macao Post Daily said that Tam Pak Yuen, Macao's Secretary for Economic and Finance, had informed the Legislative Assembly of the above prediction.

The gaming tax reached 13.73 billion patacas (US$1.71 billion) in the first nine months of the year, a year-on-year rise of 17.1 percent, according to the newspaper.

The government collected 14.74 billion patacas (US$1.84 billion) in the direct gaming taxes in 2004, it reported.

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

Macao, with a population of nearly 470,000, is the only region in China where casino gaming is legal.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2005)