GAMING LAW EXPERT CALLS ON GOV’T TO DIRECTLY AWARD GAMING CONCESSIONS

GAMING LAW EXPERT CALLS ON GOV’T TO DIRECTLY AWARD GAMING CONCESSIONS

The Macau government should consider an amendment to the gaming law to provide for the possibility of directly awarding the casino gaming concessions to the current casino operators, according to gaming legal expert Antonio Lobo Vilela.

Under the current legal and regulatory framework on casino gaming, granting casino gaming concessions by a direct award is not allowed, unlike all other types of permitted gambling in Macau.

The Macau government had long announced that it would open a public (international) tender for the award of the casino gaming concessions, which are set to expire in June 2022.

In his opinion cited in Asia Gaming Brief, the author of the book, Macau Gaming Law, recalled that one of the main points of the public consultation on the revision of the gaming law refers to the number of concessions.

“Although practical meaning and the Macau government’s intention [behind the public consultation], which proposes to ‘study and review the number of concessions,’ is unclear, three hypotheses are possible: decreasing, increasing, or maintaining the current number of casino gaming operators,” the gaming law expert said.

Source: https://macaudailytimes.com.mo/gaming-law-expert-calls-on-govt-to-directly-award-gaming-concessions.html