Reuters – Macau, the world’s casino capital, raked in 31.3 billion patacas ($3.92 billion) in gambling revenue in April thanks to strong spending by Chinese visitors keen to place their bets in the country’s only legal casino hub.

Gambling revenue growth in Macau, a special administrative region like neighbouring Hong Kong, was up 10.6 percent in April, beating analyst estimates of 6-8 percent growth.

A Portuguese colony until 1999, Macau earns the equivalent of Las Vegas’ annual haul in less than two months. Annual revenues reached a record $45 billion in 2013, elevating the tiny territory high above rival gaming destinations.

Gambling appetites are seasonally more subdued in April ahead of a national holiday week in May when record swathes of visitors are expected to travel to Macau, a tiny territory one-third the size of Manhattan.

While 2013 saw rapid gambling revenue growth, analysts have tempered expectations for the coming year due to macro economic uncertainties in China and the potential for slower credit growth that could impact liquidity of the VIP segment.

The VIP segment, made up of high-rollers from the mainland, has for the past several years driven the bulk of Macau’s casino business, making up 70-80 percent of overall gaming revenues.

However in the past year, lacklustre growth has seen the VIP segment usurped by the rise of China’s burgeoning middle class who now account for more than a third of total revenues.

Junket operators, who loan Chinese VIPs millions of yuan to play in Macau, have come under increased scrutiny over the past year as a crackdown on corruption by Beijing has prompted a closer eye on their lending practises.

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