Macau casinos post 22 percent revenue gain in March

HONG KONG, April 1 (Reuters) - Gambling revenue in the Chinese territory of Macau posted a 22 percent gain for the month of March, due to sustained demand for gambling in the country's only legal casino hub.

This is the 20th consecutive month of gains, cementing a roaring recovery in the former Portuguese colony, after revenues plunged to five-year lows due to slowing economic growth and a widespread crackdown on corruption starting in 2014.

Figures from Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination bureau on Sunday showed revenues rose 22.2 percent to 26 billion patacas ($3.2 billion) versus analyst expectations of 13 percent to 18 percent growth.

However, revenues still remain far off the highs reached in 2014, hovering only around monthly tolls seen in 2012, data from Thomson Reuters Datastream showed.

($1 = 8.0210 patacas) (Reporting by Kane Wu; writing by Farah Master; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)