The Macau Government released today the administrative regulation in which the rules for Macau’s gambling contest are established, entering into force this Wednesday.
In evaluating the proposals, the government will take into account, among other factors, “the plans for expansion of customer markets in foreign countries, the interest to the Macau Special Administrative Region of investment in projects related and not related to gambling,” and “the social responsibilities to be assumed by the concessionaires,” the authorities said in a statement.
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The next step for awarding licenses now involves launching the public tender, with a three-member committee being set up to evaluate the proposals. Macau had already approved, in the Legislative Assembly, a new legal regime for casinos, marked by significant changes that, among other changes, strengthen the authorities’ control over the gaming industry and concessionaires.
The regulation now launched determines “the change in the requirements relating to the proposal, the documents and elements to be submitted for admission to tender,” as well as “provisions relating to the content of the contractual clauses that the concession contract must contain and the award criteria,” the same note reads.
The document, published in the Official Bulletin, “regulates the public tender for the award of concessions for the operation of games of chance in casinos, the concession contract and the requirements of suitability and financial capacity of competitors and concessionaires.
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The gambling capital of the world, Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal. The territory has three concessionaires, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, founded by tycoon Stanley Ho, Galaxy and Wynn, and three sub-concessionaires, MGM, Venetian and Melco.
Gaming represents about 80 percent of government revenues and 55.5 percent of Macau’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in an industry that provides work to more than 80,000 people, or 17.23 percent of the employed population.
