MACAO - The total revenues of Macao's gaming sector for March amounted to a record high of 20.08 billion patacas ($2.51 billion), rising by 1.1 percent over the previous month, according to official figures released on Friday.

The previous record was made in February, when the monthly revenue reached 19.9 billion patacas.

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The revenues for March 2011 increased by 48 percent over the same period of 2010, the figures from the city's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau indicated.

As for the first quarter of this year, the figures increased by 43 percent year-on-year to 58.5 billion patacas, according to the bureau.

Being the only place in China where gambling is legal, there were 33 casinos with 4,791 gaming tables and 14,050 slot machines in Macao by the end of 2010, according to official figures.