The departure of Paulo Martins Chan as Director of Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) after five years in the role won’t impact the direction of gaming law amendments set to form the basis for the retendering of gaming concessions in 2022, a local gaming expert has told Inside Asian Gaming.
The six current gaming concessions will all expire in June 2022 with retendering details anxiously anticipated by operators, however Chairman of the Macao Political Economy Research Association, Tong Kai Chung, says department heads in Macau have little influence on policy decision making.
According to Tong, who is also an expert on local civil servant systems, Macau is an “executive-led governance” and most of the powers are held by the Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng.
“The CE is the one who has the power to decide major and final directions on the future of the gaming industry in Macau, especially when the industry is related to politics, economics, social affairs and every sector in Macau,” he said.
Tong also denied the rumored appointment of former Judiciary Police Criminal Investigation Department boss and advisor to the Secretary for Security, Adriano Marques Ho, to replace Chan signaled intent by the SAR government to strengthen regulations on gaming operators.
“Paulo Martins Chan was the Assistant Prosecutor General before and when he took over the DICJ five years ago, many people wondered whether the government intended to further inspect gaming operations,” Tong said.
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