More biz from foreigners hard for Macau casinos say experts

Macau’s next generation of casino concessionaires will in likelihood find it hard to meet the Macau government’s expectations on bringing in more foreign tourists, whatever plans licence bidders present to the authorities in time for the September 14 tender submission deadline, several industry commentators remarked to GGRAsia.

Nonetheless, under Macau’s updated regulatory framework for gaming, an incumbent Macau chief executive will have the discretion to reduce tax payable on casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) as an incentive for operators to bring in more customers from overseas. The details of how that would be implemented are yet to be made public.

Even with incentives, a number of hurdles might be faced by operators, said the people spoken to by GGRAsia. These include the way the city’s existing infrastructure for inbound travel is set up, and the fact the local labour market – culturally and language-wise – has in the two decades since Macau market liberalisation, been overwhelmingly geared to serve customers from mainland China and Hong Kong.

Restoring Macau’s direct-flight connectivity to regional destinations beyond mainland China will be a key task, suggested respectively gaming consultant David Green and local gaming scholar Ryan Ho Hong Wai.

Source: https://www.ggrasia.com/more-biz-from-foreigners-hard-for-macau-casinos-say-experts/