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Macau extends casino licences for 6 months to allow legislature to enact new gambling law

  • The expiry of Macau’s six casino licences will be extended to December 31, from June 26
  • The government has asked Macau’s operators to apply for the extension of their licences, said the Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai-nong

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The main casino floor of the Hard Rock Cafe Hotel inside the City of Dreams complex in Macau on June 1, 2009. Photo: AFP
Martin Choi
Macau’s gambling regulator will extend the territory’s casino licences for six months until the end of December, according to an announcement on the government’s website.
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The government asked Macau’s six casino operators to apply for the extension of their licences, which are due for expiry on June 26, the Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai-nong told local media after a Legislative Assembly Standing Committee meeting on Thursday..

The six licences are held by Wynn Macau, Sands China, MGM China, SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment and Melco Resorts.

“It’s a positive for the industry in general … because at least all the operators can really plan properly,” Wynn Macau’s chairman Allan Zeman said in a phone interview with the Post, adding that the extension was a “prudent” and “smart move” by the government. “It’s better to have certainty than uncertainty.”

Allan Zeman, photographed during an interview in Central. 14AUG19 SCMP / Winson Wong
Allan Zeman, photographed during an interview in Central. 14AUG19 SCMP / Winson Wong
The extension gives Macau’s legislature time to pass a new gambling law to regulate the world’s most lucrative casino enclave, after the government announced its biggest overhaul of betting regulations in two decades in January. The authorities also need time to complete the tender process for the licensees, analysts said.
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“The timeline for passing the gaming law and completing the retendering process by June was too ambitious,” Daiwa Capital Markets’ analyst Terry Ng wrote in a memo. “On the flip side, it gives the Macau government more time to ensure the amendments to the gaming law are better thought-out and more comprehensive to ensure the healthy development of the [gambling] sector over the long-term.”

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