{"id":23800,"date":"2021-10-22T13:48:38","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T16:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=23800"},"modified":"2026-04-23T14:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:31:09","slug":"analysts-expect-increase-in-gaming-taxes-in-macau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/analysts-expect-increase-in-gaming-taxes-in-macau","title":{"rendered":"Analysts expect increase in gaming taxes in Macau"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A panel of analysts and gaming experts have discussed the possibility of an increase in gaming taxes in Macau if the government\u2019s proposed changes to gaming laws are approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Macau.- A panel of gaming analysts, academics and lawyers has predicted there could be an increase in gaming taxes in Macau due to the shortfall in VIP revenue. The discussion came during The Macau Business and Rui Cunha Foundation’s online conference to discuss the\u00a0revision of the Macau\u2019s gaming laws<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Lee, managing partner of iGamiX Management & Consulting<\/strong>, has previously said\u00a0Macau could lose 80 per cent of its premium mass business<\/a>\u00a0due to the possibility\u00a0of increased oversight of gaming concessionaires and junket operations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alidad Tash, gaming analyst and former gaming executive<\/strong>, said: “I genuinely do not believe the government is going to keep the gaming tax at 34+5 per cent, or 39 per cent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think it\u2019s likely that they will increase it gradually, 2-5 per cent, over a few years, or they will go ahead to take care of that shortfall\u2026 as the junkets are basically, slowly diminishing as time goes by.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tash also noted VIP gaming revenue in 2013 represented nearly 70 per cent of Macau’s GGR while in 2019 it only reached 40 per cent of the total figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlos Siu, an associate professor from the Centre for Gaming and Tourism Studies of Macau Polytechnic Institute<\/strong>, said that in order to accomplish a balanced budget at the current duty rate, Macau’s annual gaming revenue would need to average MOP200bn a year.\u00a0In 2020\u00a0GGR reached just MOP60.4bn<\/a> due to the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September, Morgan Stanley<\/a> lowered its forecast for Macau\u2019s GGR for 2021  <\/strong>due to the zero-tolerance policy towards Covid-19 in both mainland China and Macau. According to analysts, Macau\u2019s GGR will reach <\/strong>MOP96.77bn (US$12bn), 33 per cent of that seen in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junkets request details on Macau\u2019s proposed new gaming laws<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kwok Chi Chung<\/a>, president of the Macau Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, has asked the government for more clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwok said he has doubts about the proposals regarding the VIP junket segment and said junkets need clarity on what constitutes an illegal deposit<\/strong>. According to the proposal, people convicted of making illegal deposits will face up to five years in prison. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The junket industry in Macau has shrunk over the past eight years. Industry analysts said that travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic and China\u2019s criminalisation of the organisation of \u201coverseas gambling\u201d have exacerbated the unfavourable factors that affected the industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Q3, VIP baccarat<\/a> was down 29.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter, representing 32 per cent of total GGR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A panel of analysts and gaming experts have discussed the possibility of an increase in gaming taxes in Macau if the government\u2019s proposed changes to gaming laws are approved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":19810,"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 contemplating a 2-5% increase in gaming taxes to offset a significant decline in VIP gaming revenue, which has fallen from 70% of GGR in 2013 to 40% in 2019. This discussion stems from proposed revisions to Macau's gaming laws, which also include stricter oversight of concessionaires and junket operations, with new penalties for illegal deposits. Industry analysts forecast continued GGR shortfalls, exacerbated by China's zero-tolerance Covid-19 policy and the criminalization of overseas gambling promotion, further pressuring the junket sector.","focusai_entities":"iGamiX Management & Consulting, Ben Lee, Alidad Tash, Centre for Gaming and Tourism Studies of Macau Polytechnic Institute, Carlos Siu, Morgan Stanley, Macau Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, Kwok Chi Chung, Rui Cunha Foundation, Macau Business","focusai_location":"Macau, China","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (0.95), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.95), payments_fraud_aml (0.85), investor_analyst (0.95), supplier_vendor (0.75), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Tax Hike Impact","query":"What specific financial models are Macau's concessionaires employing to mitigate the projected 2-5% gaming tax increase, particularly given the sustained decline in VIP GGR?"},{"label":"Junket Future","query":"How will the proposed legal framework defining \"illegal deposits\" and increasing oversight fundamentally restructure the operational and financial viability of the remaining VIP junket sector in Macau?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16338],"tags":[23911,23906],"class_list":["post-23800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-east-asia-news","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-macau-casinos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23800","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=23800"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23826,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23800\/revisions\/23826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}