{"id":777000890,"date":"2022-12-09T13:18:12","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T16:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777000890"},"modified":"2026-04-23T02:10:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:10:33","slug":"macau-casinos-may-create-foreign-player-zones-for-5-levy-exemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/macau-casinos-may-create-foreign-player-zones-for-5-levy-exemption","title":{"rendered":"Macau casinos may create foreign player zones for 5% levy exemption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The exemption will be applicable to gross gaming revenue generated by customers from outside mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong or Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Macau.- Executive Council spokesperson Cheong Weng Chon <\/strong>has told a media briefing that casino operators will be allowed to build gaming zones exclusive to foreign gamblers. The move will allow them to gain an exemption on a 5 per cent levy on gross gaming revenue from these areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new rules will apply from January 1 2023, when Macau’s new gaming concessions take effect<\/a>, and aims to encourage casinos to attract customers from jurisdictions other than mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan. GGR from the foreign player areas will face the existing 35 per cent tax and not the additional 5 per cent levy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheong said it will not be mandatory for foreign players to gamble in the dedicated zone as foreign gamblers will also place bets using different chips<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: “It\u2019s like a VIP parlour, but one just for foreign players. Identification documents such as passports have to be presented before entry. However, if the foreign gamblers come on their own, it doesn\u2019t matter which zone they go, it\u2019s up to themselves to decide.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The regulation is part of the city\u2019s new gaming law that was approved in June<\/a>. Macau\u2019s GGR tax is 35 per cent of gross income, but an additional levy of up to 5 per cent will be directed to social and other purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macau\u2019s economy could rebound 46% in 2023, according to Fitch Ratings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Fennell<\/strong>, Fitch\u2019s head of Greater China sovereigns, has issued a report suggesting that Macau\u2019s economy could rebound by 46 per cent in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023. This is based on an assumption that gross gaming revenue will recover to half its pre-pandemic level with an easing of mainland travel restrictions boosting the mass market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Macau\u2019s GDP would remain below 2018 levels. Fitch predicts that GDP will not recover to 2019 levels until at least the end of 2025, with a modest non-gaming diversification<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The exemption will be applicable to gross gaming revenue generated by customers from outside mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong or Taiwan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":26802,"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's Executive Council has announced a 5% GGR levy exemption for casino operators attracting foreign gamblers to dedicated zones, effective January 1, 2023. This regulatory adjustment, part of the new gaming law, aims to diversify Macau's gaming market beyond Greater China. Fitch Ratings projects a 46% GDP rebound for Macau in 2023, contingent on GGR recovery and eased travel restrictions, though pre-pandemic levels are not expected until late 2025.","focusai_entities":"Cheong Weng Chon, Fitch Ratings, Andrew Fennell","focusai_location":"Macau, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (1.0), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (1.0), affiliate_publisher (0.7), product_ux (0.7), tech_data (0.7), marketing_crm (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (0.8), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact on GGR diversification?","query":"What is the projected GGR contribution from non-Greater China foreign players required to offset the 5% levy exemption and significantly diversify Macau's gaming revenue streams?"},{"label":"Operational compliance challenges?","query":"What specific operational and technological adjustments will Macau's concessionaires need to implement to ensure strict compliance with the foreign player identification and dedicated zone requirements?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16338,158],"tags":[23906],"class_list":["post-777000890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-east-asia-news","category-slider-home","tag-macau-casinos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777000890","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=777000890"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777000890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777000924,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777000890\/revisions\/777000924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777000890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777000890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777000890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}