Macau gaming regulator adds 60 new inspectors
The position of DICJ director remains vacant.
Macau.- Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has announced that it has appointed 60 new inspectors. A swearing-in ceremony was led by interim director Lio Chi Chong on April 24. The regulator has yet to appoint a permanent director.
The DICJ said the new inspectors would help improve its regulatory work and supervision efficiency.
The role of director has been vacant since December, when former director Adriano Ho was appointed as the new commissioner of Macau Customs. Since then, deputy director Lio Chi Chong has been acting as director.
Macau gaming tax revenue rises slightly in Q1
The Financial Services Bureau has reported that Macau collected MOP22.20bn (US$2.78bn) in taxes from casino operations in the first quarter of the year. The figure was up 0.2 per cent in year-on-year terms. The figure for March was MOP7.95bn (US$994.5m).
Cumulatively, GGR for the first three months of the year was MOP57.66bn (US$7.20bn), up 0.6 per cent from the prior-year period. Tax revenue figures cannot be directly compared because there is usually a delay between when GGR is documented and when the government recognises the tax as being paid.
The 2025 budget plan, which the Legislative Assembly approved in December, estimates that Macau’s casino GGR will reach MOP240bn (US$29.7bn) this year. Gaming taxes are expected to reach MOP93.12bn (US$11.6bn). The take for the first quarter represents 23.8 per cent of that figure and 88.4 per cent of the government’s total revenue for the period.
