Macau: Legislative committee still hoping to approve final gaming law draft bill by June 10

Speaking to the media after another meeting Tuesday, committee head Chan Chak Mo noted that a mistake in the redaction of one of the law articles in the revised version recently handed to the committee led to a misunderstanding that the future annual maximum cap for gaming and slot machine tables would be defined for each gaming concessionaire.

However, in fact, it was supposed to still include that the future annual maximum cap will still be defined for the whole industry, with gaming tables and slot machines then allocated to each operator.

“There was one Chinese character wrong in the new version. After media reports were published at the last meeting [on Monday] we were contacted to say this was not correct and another version will be provided,” Chan added.

Another issue that required clarification was if satellite casinos that closed doors before the new gaming law is enforced can do so before the new legislation is enacted and via what procedures.

The new version of the general gaming law presented by the Macau SAR government allows for satellite casinos to continue operating even if the property where they are located is not completely owned by a gaming concessionaire, a turnaround from the previous stance that could see these casinos closed if the situation was not resolved in a three-year transitional period after the new law was is enforced.

Chan noted that legislators were still not clear if a third party managed casino that already closed could re-open after the law is amended, with clarifications still needed from government officials and legal advisors.

“We need to ask what will be the transitory regulations, because under the law in force there is no definition of a satellite casino […] Currently, let’s say if a casino in an SJM or Melco property closes, to re-open it will need government authorisation,” Chan added.

Despite the doubts, Chan believed that after maybe one meeting with government officials, if no more doubts or discussions arose, the final draft could be approved by the committee by June 10.

By Nelson Moura