Galaxy’s Wynn share buy ruled legal

The director of Macau’s gaming regulator said Galaxy Entertainment didn’t breach local laws by buying Wynn Resorts’ shares.

Macau.- Despite controversy surrounding the operation, the director of Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) said Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd did not breach local laws by buying Wynn Resorts shares.

Since Wynn Resorts is the parent company of Galaxy Entertainment’s Macau market rival Wynn Macau Ltd, the operation had been flagged as potentially illegal. However, according to DICJ director Paulo Martins Chan, it wasn’t: “I want to stress that the party that was selling shares was Wynn Resorts in the U.S., not Wynn Macau. Therefore, [Galaxy Entertainment] is only indirectly holding shares of Wynn Macau,” he said.

Mr Chan further explained that “the law also states clearly that [they] allow to conduct such type of investment if they are indirectly holding no more than a certain percentage,” and added: “According to our understanding, we don’t see any breach of regulations at this preliminary stage. It also doesn’t pose a major impact on the normal operation of the Macau gaming industry.”