A public consultation for the amendment of Macau’s gaming law will be launched at the end of the year ahead of the re-tendering of gaming concessions in June 2022, the government has pledged.
The timetable for the amendment of the law as well as the re-tendering process was raised by several legislators at a Q&A session of the Legislative Assembly on Monday, with Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wei Nong highlighting the government would not only focus on the structure of re-tendering but also on details of gaming law.
“The devil is in the details,” Lei said. “We must clarify all rights and responsibilities with gaming operators as all disputes must be solved based on details.”
Lei also believes Macau will have more bargaining power in negotiating with gaming operators this time around.
“Gaming liberalization in 2003 and the re-tendering in 2022 are two different discussions at different levels,” he added. “In 2003, Macau did not have enough conditions to make a choice, today we have more spaces and conditions to decide the direction of the gaming industry.”
Lei encouraged the public to offer more opinions on the re-tendering, including non-gaming elements, the corporate social responsibilities of gaming operators and support for local SMEs. However, he proposed re-defining so-called “non-gaming” elements, casting doubt on whether hotels, dining and other elements inside integrated resorts should be considered as non-gaming elements.
“The government will gather mainstream ideas and give consideration to minorities in proposing the draft of the gaming law,” he said.
However, Lei steered clear of offering more practical information about legislative and re-tendering timetables at this point.
