MACAO, Oct. 20(Xinhuanet)-- Macao's income from direct gaming tax rose 17.7 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters, according to official statistics issued here on Thursday.

The statistics released by the Finance Service Bureau (FSB) showed that the gaming tax reached 12.5 billion patacas (1.56 billion US dollars) in the nine months.

The direct gaming tax payments made up 75.13 percent of the government's total income between January and September, the figures showed.

Macao's 17 casinos pay 35 percent of their gross revenues as direct tax to the government, according to the official figures.

Macao, with a population of nearly 470,000, is the only region in China where casino gaming is legal. Enditem