By José Carlos Matias
Game changer
Game changer I
t has been the talk of the town over the last couple of years. We are less than two years away from the expiration of the current casino concessions and sub-concessions. And questions remain up in the air. What’s the timeline for amending the gaming law? Will Macau keep its status quo
with its existing three concessions and other three sub- concessions? Will all six operators be on equal footing as fully-fledged concessions? Will there be new players? What about the concessions’ length? Twenty more years? Or ten years, as some observers suggest? Will the public tender follow
Macau’s gaming industry sits at a critical juncture. The gaming law revision and the public tender preparation will take place amid rising Sino-American tensions and the massive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. As authorities remain tight-lipped, analysts predict an end to the sub-concessions model, and tighter supervision both at a local and a national level. New requirements are in the pipeline related to social responsibility, economic diversification, and regional integration.
the same rationale as the one held two decades ago? What will be the impact of the ever-growing tensions between Washington and Beijing on the operations of the American gambling companies in town? Many more follow-up questions loom in the background. In a reply to questions put forth by Macau Business, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau referred to Ho Iat Seng’s Policy Address remarks in April, when the Chief Executive expressed these key points: there will be an open public tender, and the Government has no plans to extend the current concessions nor to reduce taxes on gross gaming revenue.
Blurry timeline
As for the timeline for the legislative works and the public tender, days after Ho’s statements, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong promised a “detailed” public consultation on the gaming law to be launched before the end of the year. The consultation paper, which according to Lei will be discussed by citizens from all walks of life, will surely shed light on what’s in store for the post-2022 scenario. When Ho and Lei addressed the Legislative Assembly in April, the COVID-19 pandemic had already hit the city (and the rest of the world) hard, with a devastating impact on the economy, particularly in the gaming and tourism industries. Despite the light at the end of the tunnel resulting from the
gradual resumption of the individual visa issuance for mainland visitors, the industry is far from getting back on its feet, and observers predict a slow recovery. In light of the impact of the pandemic, some voices have called for a postponement of the public tender, meaning that the current concessions would
20 OCTOBER 2020
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