MACAU BUSINESS


controls and UnionPay restrictions remain a persistent headwind.


“THE POPULARITY AND GLOBAL APTITUDE OF THE INDUSTRY” IN MACAU


“Looking back to 2004, the most transformative development shaping the gaming industry today has been the substantial fixed-capital investments made by the six integrated resort (IR) operators in constructing their iconic properties and world- class hospitality and entertainment facilities, as clearly reflected in the development of the Cotai Strip,” according to Professor Ricardo Siu, from the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Macau.


From the grand opening of The Venetian in 2007, followed by City of Dreams in 2009, Galaxy Macau in 2011, Wynn Palace in 2016, MGM Cotai in 2018, and Grand Lisboa Palace in 2021, alongside the launch of other associated properties over the past two decades, “Macau’s progress as a world-renowned casino tourism destination has been unprecedented,” comments the professor of Gaming and Tourism and Macao Economy.


“Through this development process, while the six IR operators compete with one another, their efforts have collectively emphasized the popularity and global aptitude of the industry,” he adds to Macau Business.


Nevertheless, notes the Macau-based scholar, who completed almost all of his academic training in the United States, “the eye-catching development of properties and facilities, which was financed by the enviable yet controversial rise in gaming revenue derived from the third-party-


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