Moody’s Investors Service is currently considering whether to lower its financial valuation on U.S. casino giant Las Vegas Sands, according to reports.

The group says the review, which is also being considered by the Las Vegas-based gambling company’s Sands China Limited subsidiary, began following a recent business slump caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The valuation has led Las Vegas Sands Corp to declare that the bond could lose its “Baa3” senior unsecured credit rating because it is subject to “intermediate credit risk” and also could have “speculative characteristics.” Sands China Limited could reportedly be downgraded to ‘Baa2’ after it shut down five properties in Macau for 15 days last month as part of a campaign to stop the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus variant.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation is responsible for Palazo and Venetian Las Vegas real estate in Southern Nevada, and last year it committed to investing more than $3 billion to expand its Marina Bay Sands store in Singapore. Subsequently, the subsidiary of Macau-based Sands China Limited, which operates real estate in The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao, Sands Macao and Paris Macao, explained that it would invest about $1.3 billion to brand Sands Cotai Central development as London or Macao.

However, a series of potentially deadly coronavirus diseases, officially known as the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), in 2019, have reportedly negatively affected both companies’ businesses. Macau’s total game sales plunged more than 87% year-on-year in February to just $387.2 million, and several securities firms have since reportedly predicted a similar slump could repeat in March.

Adam McLaren of Moody’s Investors Service reportedly said both casino companies were recently experiencing a dramatic drop in total gaming revenue due to a number of coronavirus-related factors, including tightened quarantine rules and health declarations, along with Macau’s new silence on Chinese arrivals.

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