Macau Chief Executive Officer Ho Iat-Seng has announced the start of an open bidding process for six available casino licenses, which will run from 29 July to 14 September.
This news follows yesterday’s announcement of the public bidding committee of the concession for the operation of the Casino Game of Fortune, a new nine-member committee responsible for overseeing the bidding process.
The open bid is the result of Macau’s gaming law reforms approved in May, replacing the previous system of three concessions and three subcontractors with a simplified model of six concessions.
The six operators currently authorized to offer games are Las Vegas Sands, SJM, Melco, Galaxy Entertainment, MGM China and Wynn, with little real difference between concessions and sub-concessions.
The new system also empowers chief executives to grant tax breaks, especially if the casino succeeds in attracting non-mainland customs.
The rules of this process are detailed in Presidential Decree 136/2022 published in the official bulletin.
Some rules include a MOP$10 million deposit for participants in the competition and a bidding period of up to 10 years.
The current six concessionaire licenses are scheduled to expire on December 31, following a six-month extension in June. The goal is to introduce new or updated licenses from January 1, 2023.
The news comes amid a historically bad three years for Macau’s land-based gaming sector, with intermittent lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic and GGR falling to MOP$293.31bn ($36.29bn/ £29.95 bn/€35.75) reduced by nearly 80%. 1 billion) he hit rock bottom of MOP61.05 billion in 2020 in 2019, and in 2021 he will recover slowly to MOP87.56 billion.
Many analysts expected 2022 to be a better year for business than 2021, but in China The “Zero Covid” policy culminated in the recent closure of the casino, which was just reopened on July 23, leading to a situation that caused strict government action, even for relatively small outbreaks by Western standards. Has been reached.
While full financial results for the quarter have not yet been released, Sands China alone reported a net loss of $422 million in Q2 2022, giving some insight into the sector’s future profitability in the region. I have a question.
