The President of the Standing Committee of Macau’s Legislative Assembly (AL), Chan Chak Mo, revealed Tuesday that discussions on the first draft of the gaming law had now been completed with the government to submit the second draft to the Committee in April.
The General Assembly of the AL has promised to pass the amended gaming law before 26 June 2022, which will allow sufficient time for the government to run its re-tendering process in the second half of this year.
The final day of discussions on the first draft included confirmation that the three-year grace period for satellite casinos in Macau would begin from the effective date of new gaming licenses, meaning the countdown isn’t likely to start until early next year.
“The government confirmed at the meeting that the starting date of the satellite casinos’ grace period will start from the effective date of the new gaming contract signed by the new concessionaires,” Chan said.
Under the gaming law draft, satellite casinos must in future be located within a property that is owned by a concessionaire, suggesting that for many their ongoing existence relies on the sale of real estate to one of Macau’s “Big Six”. However, a three-year grace period will be introduced for existing satellite arrangements should the concessionaire under whose license they currently operate be awarded a new concession in the upcoming tender process.
The licenses of the six concessionaires had been due to expire on 26 June 2022 but the government recently revealed its intention to extend this by six months until 31 December 2022.
It has also revealed that existing gaming companies must effectively dissolve should they fail to win a new concession but they may be allowed to continue running their non-gaming businesses such as hotels, retail, and food and beverage.
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