{"id":22635,"date":"2021-09-15T11:20:03","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T14:20:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=22635"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:40:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:40:02","slug":"macau-likely-to-end-sub-concessions-system-for-casino-operators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/macau-likely-to-end-sub-concessions-system-for-casino-operators","title":{"rendered":"Macau likely to end sub-concessions system for casino operators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Under the revision of the city\u2019s gaming law, Macau wants to end the current sub-concession system and increase oversight of gaming concessionaires and junket operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Macau.- According to local media reports, authorities in Macau want to end the current sub-concession system<\/strong> that led to the creation of three additional Macau casino licences. The government also wants to increase the oversight of gaming concessionaires and junket operations<\/strong>, but it will maintain at least six gaming concessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the news comes as Macau\u2019s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau beings a public consultation<\/a> on the revision of the city\u2019s gaming law, which will run until October 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lei Wai Nong, Macau\u2019s Secretary for Economy and Finance<\/strong>, said: “We don\u2019t want to encourage any more sub-concession arrangements, because we want to ensure stability in our gaming concession system\u2026they\u2026 should not expand endlessly.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also revealed the government might invite the public to give its view on the maximum number of gaming concessions<\/strong> that ought to be permitted in the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities have also proposed electing “delegates” to Macau’s gaming concessions<\/strong>, so it can have a “greater checking” limit on the activity of the gaming firms. A delegate system is already used to monitor other forms of public concession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government delegates would be sent to gaming concessionaries <\/strong>to enable the direct monitoring of daily operations. Authorities have also suggested that administrators should meet certain requirements<\/strong> and get government endorsement before distributing profits, regardless of whether it be in cash or shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lei Wai Nong said: “We want to reinforce the monitoring on the gaming companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I want to stress that our regulations need to be updated to ensure that the development of the gaming industry will be sustainable, and healthy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macau\u2019s current casino licences are due to expire in June 2022<\/strong>. However, the city\u2019s gaming laws state that licences can be extended for up to five years<\/strong> from the original 20-year term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandford C. Bernstein<\/strong> said: “It is not yet announced how many concessions will be granted but to us, it is clear there will be at least six and the chances of additional concessions are low as the government repeated the mantra of sustainable development.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diversification of Macau\u2019s economy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Analysts suggest that the upcoming retendering of Macau\u2019s casino licences is an opportunity to implement changes to the licence<\/strong> criteria<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A research paper from Pedro Cortes<\/strong>, managing partner at law firm Rato, Ling, Lei & Cortes, and Antonio Lobo Viela<\/strong>, an advisor on gaming-related matters, proposes requirements for operators to help the diversification of Macau\u2019s economy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the analysts, Macau has a weak economy that is \u201cexcessively dependent on tourism and gaming,\u201d<\/strong> something that came starkly into view after during Covid-19 countermeasures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts also suggest there should be a requirement for proposals for investment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) <\/strong>to create an international world-class tourism destination, recognising the uniqueness of Macau\u2019s cultural and social resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Under the revision of the city\u2019s gaming law, Macau wants to end the current sub-concession system and increase oversight of gaming concessionaires and junket operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":18628,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Macau is proposing significant revisions to its gaming law, aiming to terminate the sub-concession system and enhance government oversight of gaming concessionaires and junket operations. Key changes include direct monitoring by government delegates, mandatory endorsement for profit distribution, and the potential integration of economic diversification and Greater Bay Area investment criteria into future concession tenders. These reforms are being discussed during a public consultation as current licenses approach their June 2022 expiry.","focusai_entities":"Lei Wai Nong, Macau\u2019s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Sandford C. Bernstein, Pedro Cortes, Rato, Ling, Lei & Cortes, Antonio Lobo Viela","focusai_location":"Macau, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (1.0), investor_analyst (0.98), supplier_vendor (0.75), journalist_researcher (0.98)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Sub-Concession Transition Plan?","query":"What specific mechanisms and timelines will be implemented to transition existing sub-concessionaires, and what are the financial and operational implications for their current assets and liabilities?"},{"label":"Impact on Shareholder Returns?","query":"How will the proposed 'delegate' system and government endorsement for profit distribution impact operational autonomy, capital allocation strategies, and ultimately, shareholder returns for listed concessionaires?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16338,156,158],"tags":[23911,23906],"class_list":["post-22635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-asia-news","category-regulation-news","category-slider-home","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-macau-casinos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22635"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22665,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22635\/revisions\/22665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}