Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng has vowed to continue pushing the city’s casino operators to focus on mass market development and improve their non-gaming operations, while tightening the regulation of junkets, in his first policy address to the plenary session at the Legislative Assembly.
While light on detail ahead of a later press conference, Ho hinted at conservative policy when it comes to Macau’s gaming industry, pointing to growth at a “moderate scale” with “sustainable development, paying attention to nearby areas and the global gaming industry’s development and policies.”
The government would continue “pushing gaming operators to develop the mass market and to find more competitive non-gaming elements,” he said, “facilitating the gaming and non-gaming correlation in order to build Macau into the World Center of Tourism and Leisure by extending non-gaming elements.”
However, long-awaited details of the gaming license re-tendering process for Macau’s concession holders won’t be released this year, with Ho stating the government will instead “keep listening to public opinion, reviewing and utilizing practical experience in order to ensure better preliminary preparations for re-tendering.”
Pressed for details at his ensuing press conference, the Chief Executive explained, “The government is still working on further research regarding the new gaming concessions based on the previous mid-term review, and will start the consultation externally.
“The legislative process will not finish this year, so we won’t announce details about the re-tendering of gaming licenses this year.”
