MACAO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Macao's gaming industry revenue increased by 36.4 percent year-on-year to 26.26 billion patacas (about 3.26 billion U.S. dollars) in January 2018, the special administrative region's gaming industry watchdog said on Friday.

Macao's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said in its latest report that the first month of 2018 saw a significant increase with highest year-on-year growth rate since March 2014, the 18th monthly rebound year-on-year in gaming revenue since August 2016.

Macao's monthly gaming revenue registered a 1.1-percent year-on-year rise in August 2016, ending a 26-month slump of the industry. Since then the monthly revenue has kept recording year-on-year growth as of January 2018.