Macau's Leader Warns World's Biggest Gambling Hub could Face A.

HONG KONG, April 16 (Reuters) - The leader of Macau stated the enclave dangers slipping into a deficit spending if betting earnings worldwide's most significant gaming center drop listed below 15 billion patacas ($1.88 billion) a month after they disappointed government forecasts in the first quarter.

President Sam Hou Fai made the talk about Tuesday to local legislators, according to a federal government declaration.

"If subsequent gaming incomes still do not satisfy the target, the Government will face a spending plan deficit," he stated, according to the declaration.

Macau is an unique administrative region of China and is the only place where Chinese people are legally permitted to bet in gambling establishments.

A Portuguese colony up until 1999, its economy is heavily dependent on its casino market which contributes about 80% of the government's tax incomes.

"The imbalance in our financial structure is severe and we must maintain a strong sense of crisis awareness. Macau is a little city, yet our routine expenditure is substantial and it will continue to grow unless we deal with up to extreme scenarios," he said, according to public broadcaster TDM.

A sluggish down in financial growth both in China and globally are essential issues for gambling establishments, especially offered a flurry of U.S. statements to impose import tariffs globally, including on China, analysts said.

DS Kim, an expert at JP Morgan in Hong Kong, said Macau deals with "second-order effects" from the expected downturn in orders for close-by Guangdong, China's largest export center, and a weaker yuan.

He now expects a prospective worst case 10% decrease in video gaming profits for Macau versus a low single-digit growth forecast.

Macau's first-quarter gaming profits rose 0.6% year-on-year to 57.7 billion patacas, or 19.2 billion patacas each month, versus the government's full-year forecast of 240 billion patacas, or 20 billion patacas per month.

Authorities in Beijing and Macau have actually mandated that the 6 certified casino operators Sands China, Wynn Macau, SJM Holdings, MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment and Melco Resorts diversify their income base away from the casino market. ($1 = 7.99 patacas) (Reporting by Farah Master: Editing by Neil Fullick)