Macau: 7 operators submit bids for casino concessions

The committee overseeing Macau’s public tender will open the bids tomorrow (September 16).

09/15/22

All of Macau’s existing casino operators plus a company linked to Genting’s Lim Kok Thay have submitted bids in the retender process.

Macau.- Following the deadline for bids yesterday (September 14), it’s been reported that all six of Macau’s current casino operators plus just one other operator have submitted bids for new concessions under the city’s retender.

The surprise entry to the tender was GMM Limited. The company is linked to Lim Kok Thay, chairman of Genting Group, which operates casino resorts in Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere. The news was confirmed by a representative of GMM who said the company was “confident” in winning a Macau licence and hoped to “bring new impact” to the city.

Wynn Macau was the first company to confirm it had submitted a bid, followed by Sands China and Melco Resorts & Entertainment. SJM Holdings, MGM China Holdings and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd all confirmed their bids late yesterday.

The commission that will oversee the retender has announced that bids will be opened at 10am tomorrow (September 16). Under the new concession regime, up to six new concessions will run for a period of ten years each. It is expected that the new concession term will begin on January 1, 2023.

Macau announces new numbers for tables and slot machines from 2023

As previously reported by Focus Gaming News, the maximum number of gaming tables across all casinos will be 6,000 and the maximum number of gaming machines 12,000 from 2023.

The government has also set the minimum annual gaming revenue expected from each gaming table at MOP7m(US$875,000), and the minimum from each machine at MOP300,000. If concessionaires are unable to meet the minimum revenue requirements, they will have to pay the government a premium for the difference between the actual revenue and the required minimum.

As of the end of June, there were 6,006 gaming tables and 12,042 slots in Macau. Prior to the pandemic, the number of gaming tables amounted to 6,739 and the number of slots to 17,009.

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