MACAU BUSINESS
Ben Lee, from IGamiX Management & Consulting Ltd,
has stated several times that the sum of these factors could have an effect on the re-tendering. Mr Lee believes that “things have returned to normal
after the departure of all those casino moguls and President no.45. The chances of retaining the gaming concessions will have improved for the US companies.” However, Ben Lee stresses to Macau Business that “as
we have seen since, the new US regime has maintained if not increased their rigorous approach to their relationship with China vis-a-vis Hong Kong, which probably means that China’s views on this foreign presence in Macau are unlikely to have improved.” For this Macau-based gaming consultant, beyond “making a stand,” China will take advantage of the re-tendering “to correct an imbalance that had slipped in.” On this topic, Jorge Costa Oliveira is even more unambiguous: “If I were a concessionaire with roots in the United States, I would be concerned.” “China has so far understood that foreign companies,
namely US-based ones, have been useful for the development of Macau as a relevant regional and world leisure centre. But one has to wonder if the US’s recent policy of blacklisting scores of Chinese companies under different rationales won’t produce, sooner or later, some kind of retaliatory effect,” he tells Macau Business.
Priscilla Roberts, Associate Professor at City
University of Macau, is another expert not envisioning significant changes in the geopolitical context. Ms Roberts, a specialist in US foreign affairs and politics, stated last January that “it’s quite possible that American casinos will no longer be as welcome in Macau.”
Speaking at an event hosted by the France Macau Chamber of Commerce titled “America´s New President: A Turning Point for US/China Relations?”, Professor
20 AUGUST 2021
“China will take advantage of the re-tendering “to correct an imbalance that
had slipped in” Ben Lee
Roberts suggested China could use the re-tendering of Macau casino licenses “to deliver a slap on the wrist to the United States without really getting the Biden administration too upset about what’s happening to the Adelsons and the Wynns.”
Cross-border gambling
In January of this year, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that it would extend its travel blacklist of overseas gambling jurisdictions or countries that promote gambling tourism for Chinese nationals. One month later, China’s Ministry of Public Security issued a statement urging criminal suspects in cross- border gambling to “surrender” and focused on overseas gambling groups promoting gambling during the Chinese New Year. Then an amendment to China’s criminal law enforced on March 1 determined that anyone who “organises” mainland Chinese for the purpose of “overseas” gambling will be deemed to have committed a criminal act. Finally, last April, the Chinese Minister of Public Security, Zhao Kezhi, stated that China must take the strongest measures to strictly control and resolutely eradicate the conditions for cross-border gambling. On this side of the border, it is still unclear what the
real implications might be of these new rules criminalising the facilitation of “cross-border gambling”, not knowing for example whether Macau is included in the so-called “outside-the-borders” definition.
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
