87
smoking bans in other gaming jurisdic- tions has led to an average 20-percent decrease in gross gaming revenues in the rst year, he says. In Macau’s case, where a partial
ban is in place, with the establishment of sizeable gaming areas for smokers, Mr Fong does not forecast a signi cant drop in revenue in the rst year. “For the other years to come, gross
gaming revenue will recover, increasing above the numbers of the year before the ban,” he says, mentioning the cases of some gaming jurisdictions in the U.S. and Australia. Mr Chio says the ban will create
a new segment of players, the non- smokers, who can eventually make an important contribution to gaming revenue. In Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands “underestimated new gamblers, particularly non-smoker gamblers,” he says, adding the property is changing its layout to better cater for demand. Ms Patterson is pessimistic. “When
you implement a ban, partial or full, you do see a decrease on revenues,” she says.
Comparing Macau to the experi-
ence of casinos in Atlantic City, Ms Patterson estimates there will be a drop in revenue, even with a partial ban. “They [Atlantic City] had a partial ban, the economy then went into recession and they delayed the implementation of the full ban as a result. Which again is a recognition that it will impact revenues.” Recent news reports mention the
weak enforcement of the partial ban at Atlantic City’s casinos. In the U.S., the scope of smoking
bans varies signi cantly between ju- risdictions. Only four of 14 states with commercial gaming industries have banned smoking entirely. Eight of the 14 states have no smoking restrictions on the casino oor.
Second-hand smoke The issue of allowing smoking in casi- nos has particular relevance to Macau. The majority of players are from the mainland. The country’s population of smokers now numbers 300 million peo- ple, according to the central government – roughly the population of the United States. The president of the outspoken
New Macau Association, Jason Chao Teng Hei says his group will continue the ght to ban smoking completely
JANUARY 2012
inside casinos. Mr Chao explains that he is satis ed with the strength of the current measures but highlights the health dangers casino workers face from second-hand smoke. More than 47,000 people work in
Macau’s casino industry, making it the city’s biggest employer. About 21,000 work as dealers. It is unclear what will happen if a
worker refuses to work in a smoking zone.
Legislator José Pereira Coutinho
agrees with the concerns regarding the health of dealers. Smoking areas “will continue to be polluted and a lot of people, given the working relation-
ship, have to work there and are forced to inhale second-hand smoke, which is clearly unfair,” he says. “I don’t believe the separation [of
the smoking and non-smoking areas] will be enough.” Government-appointed legislator
Tommy Lau Veng Seng says allowing for both smoking and non-smoking areas in casinos is a compromise solu- tion. He notes that even a partial ban as planned will not be easy to apply. “It will take an effort to enforce
the law in casinos. There are a lot of tourists from the mainland and most of them are smokers,” he says. A full smoking ban in casinos has
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116