Macau may double its number of gaming inspectors
Authorities are planning to restructure the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, adding more gaming inspectors and an extra director.
Macau.- The government continues to eye changes to Macau’s gaming industry. With amendments to Macau’s current gaming law on the way, authorities also want to improve the efficiency of controls.
Macau’s Executive Council has drawn up a draft proposal that seeks to restructure the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) to increase the number of gaming inspectors from 192 to 459.
The amendment also proposes adding an extra director of the DICJ to better develop tasks related to the coordination of the divisions within the bureau.
The amendment could be approved in the following days. It will take effect a day after it is published in Macau’s Official Gazette.
The current DICJ director, Adriano Marques Ho, was appointed in May to replace Paulo Martins Chan after he resigned from the position. Ho started his term on June 10 and will remain DICJ director for two years.
One of his main tasks is to analyse Macau’s gaming licence criteria and gaming laws as Macau’s current casino licences are due to expire in June 2022.
Proposed changes in Macau
Macau legislators want an assessment of the current six gaming licensees’ performance and behaviour over the last twenty years.
According to local media, government officials listened to legislators’ suggestions on changes to the licence criteria to include requirements for operators to invest in the diversification of Macau’s economy.
Meanwhile, some analysts believe Macau should consider turning to technology and online gambling to maintain revenue.
A report entitled “The economic impact of a global pandemic on the tourism economy: the case of COVID-19 and Macao’s destination- and gambling-dependent economy” suggests state casino operators should turn to online gambling and technology to recover.
The report suggests casino operators should “leverage on the technological advances brought by the Industrial Revolution 4.0, such as virtual reality, to deliver a revamped online gambling experience.”
It states that online gambling combined with virtual reality could be effective to curb gambling addiction and could boost casino operators’ revenue amid uncertainty about possible new Covid-19 waves.
