Macau Legislators Overwhelmingly Support New Gambling Laws

January 25, 2022 Crime & Legal

Legislators in Macau have had their first official review of the city’s new gambling laws. The results are in line with expectations, with almost 100% support appearing.

Macau’s Legislative Assembly spent more than two hours discussing the new gambling laws.

When they were done scrutinizing the draft measures, the outcome was clear: 30 Assembly members voted for the new laws. Only one was against them.

Concerns Still Remain Over New Gaming Regime
Despite the overwhelming support, there are still questions to address. Some of the lawmakers raised concerns over how satellite casinos will work going forward. They will have to be more closely aligned to existing casino licensees, which could cause some of them to fail. If so, asserted the lawmakers, this could impact employment.

Lei Wai Nong, Macau’s secretary for economy and finance, believes the satellites are safe, stating that the laws aren’t written to kill the gaming industry. However, because of how the concessions are designed to work, only licensed properties are able to offer gaming. This means that gaming should only take place in venues they directly own.

Lei also reiterated his position that it is still possible that the laws may not be fully approved before the concessions expire in June. If this happens, he confirmed that extensions to the concessions will be given.

The next step is for the bill to go before one of three Assembly committees for further review. That committee may or may not make any changes. Either way, with or without modifications, the bill will return to the Assembly for its second pass. If it is approved, the new laws will be ready to take effect.