Macau gambling revenue drops 21.4 pct in Jan, in line with forecasts

By Farah Master

HONG KONG, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Gambling revenues for the Chinese territory of Macau dropped 21.4 percent in January, ahead of a Lunar New Year week-long holiday which is expected to boost the number of visitors to the world's largest casino hub.

Gambling revenue in the former Portuguese colony fell for the 20th consecutive month to 18.7 billion patacas ($2.33 billion), government data showed on Monday, in line with analysts' expectations of an 18-26 percent decline.

Macau, which relies on the casinos for revenue, has been battered by a two-year-old anti-corruption campaign and slowing growth in China's broader economy. Gambling revenues are hovering around five-year lows.

($1 = 8.0100 patacas) (Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Miral Fahmy)