Macau Legislators Review Gaming Law Amendments, Prepare for Final Reading

March 24, 2022 Macau Crime & Legal Industry Updates

Macau continues to advance its efforts to update local gambling laws. The committee charged with their review wrapped up another reading this week, with another revision coming next month.

Macau is a step closer to completing major gambling law reforms that could significantly alter how the Chinese SAR’s casinos operate. A Legislative Assembly committee responsible for reviewing and helping clarify the new rules and regulations just completed another round of discussions of the changes this week.

There is still more work to be done, and additional input from the government is needed. Chan Chak Mo, the president of the committee, explained that this will likely happen sometime next month. At that time, the final draft could be ready for presentation.

Casino Satellites in Macau Still on the Chopping Block
Satellite casino operators need to start preparing for alternative business opportunities. The revision of the draft gambling laws confirms the planned adoption of rules that would force satellites to be in properties owned by one of the six concessionaires.

The satellite operators will have three years from the start of the new concessions to work out a deal with casino licensees. However, procrastinating until the end of the period will make reaching an agreement more difficult. There are a total of 18 satellite casinos in Macau, of which 14 operate under SJM Holdings’ license. Three have ties to Galaxy Entertainment, and the last operates through a partnership with Melco Resorts and Entertainment.