84
Gaming Green consults on slots
First step The director of
practice director and continuing to con- sult for the authorities here. Newpage Consultadoria’s contract
with the government, which runs until December, is not exclusive, so it can con- sult for other clients at the same time. It is one of the reasons that the price of its contract is lower than that of the exclusive deal the government had with Soconsult for gaming law-related services. The So- consult contract was scrapped this year. “I would like to think it is the fi rst step of a long partnership,” said Mr Green.
the Gaming Inspec-
David Green, the former PricewaterhouseCoopers gaming practice director, is back in Macau
H
e was away for about a year, but David Green has returned to Macau. The government has
hired his recently created fi rm, Newpage Consultadoria, to study and consult on the gaming industry. Newpage Consultadoria has a
MOP1.8-million contract to help the gov- ernment in its fi rst minimum internal risk control audit on casinos, which will fo- cus on slot machines. The audit is to take place this year and the outcome may be a set of new rules. “There is not yet a formal set of rules
for slot machines,” Mr Green told Macau Business. “The technology is moving very fast and what we need to do is to have a good set of controls in place. “The challenge is an ongoing one,
not only to keep up with technology but also to be able to understand where it is heading to. There are issues from the player point of view and from the op- erator’s point of view, while ensuring the protection of tax revenue.” Mr Green is a familiar fi gure to in-
dustry insiders. The Australian has lived and worked in Macau for most of the past 10 years and is a permanent resident. His fi rst role was with the Arthur Andersen team hired by the government in 2000 to advise on the liberalisation of the casino industry. Arthur Andersen in China merged
with PricewaterhouseCoopers in June 2002, and, as a legacy Andersen partner, Mr Green became a partner at Price- waterhouseCoopers, serving as gaming
the secretary for administration and justice’s International Law Offi ce, tendered his resignation for “family reasons” after 21 years with the Macau government. Mr Oliveira, now in Portugal, said he wanted to return to Macau, but did not
Farewell, Jorge Oliveira J
know when. He is planning to go into private practice as a legal consultant. Mr Oliveira played an active role in the team in charge of preparing the
liberalisation of the gaming industry in 2002. He is widely considered to be a top expert on gaming-related legal issues, and former Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah held his work in high regard.
OCTOBER 2010
tion and Coordination Bureau, Manuel Joaquim das Neves, says the government hired Newpage Consultadoria because of its longstanding consulting relationship with Mr Green. Mr Neves says it was necessary to hire an outside consultant to help with the audit because of the highly specialised know-how required. Besides having worked with
the
Macau government, Mr Green has also consulted on gaming for authorities in fi ve other
jurisdictions, including Aus-
tralia and Taiwan. From 2004 to 2005, he worked with Singapore’s government, helping it draft legislation needed for the legalisation of casinos there. Newpage Consultadoria will help
with the fi rst audit since the Gaming In- spection and Coordination Bureau issued the Minimum Internal Control Require- ments in August 2006. They set out the government’s minimum expectations for internal risk control systems and cover a range of situations. Concessionaires must establish and maintain an adequately re- sourced internal audit capability, to en- able frequent and thorough testing of the adequacy of internal controls. The importance of controls is grow-
orge Oliveira, who was head of legal affairs for the Gaming Commission until February, is no longer in public service. The Portuguese, who was in charge of
ing, since the slot machine market has expanded. “In 2001, it was said slot ma- chines were as useful as urinals,” Mr Green said. Today they provide about fi ve percent of gross gaming revenue. Having been involved in the liber-
alisation of the Macau gaming industry since 2000, Mr Green recalls that he was at fi rst doubtful about how successful it would be. Those doubts are long gone. “There is nothing like the Macau story and there will never be,” he said.
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