Macau’s Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, has described amendment to the city’s gaming law as vital in improving regulatory standards and earning the support of mainland China.
Ho attended the Legislative Assembly (AL) to answer questions raised by legislators on Tuesday, most of which revolved around the amended gaming law currently being discussed by the AL.
The Chief Executive admitted that Macau’s gaming industry was at its lowest point now, but insisted this was the perfect time to fix the industry’s deficiencies.
“The [previous] gaming law has not been thoroughly enforced in the past,” he said.
“I hoped that the current period would be an opportunity to rectify the industry’s standards and ensure the healthy development [of the industry]. Then we could earn support from the mainland. Otherwise, Macau will find itself on a narrower and narrower road.
“GGR reached MOP$60 billion (US$7.4 billion) when we had 6 million visitors, however our GGR has never reached MOP$400 billion (US$49.6 billion) when we have 40 million visitors.”
Ho said Macau’s gaming industry was previously impacted by unlawful conduct while emphasizing the latest amendments to the gaming law did not change any fundamental principles.
“Unlawful conduct such as side-betting caused significant tax evasion and brought serious negative impact to mainland China,” he said.
Ho also pointed out that Macau’s satellite casinos have never existed under any legislative base and therefore could not claim to be losing anything by being included under new regulations. On labor issues, he added that the government would require gaming concessionaries to reduce the number of non-resident workers gradually in order to ensure the employment of local employees.
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