Coronavirus pandemic has made Macau face an adverse period for gaming license renewal. It indicates Macau’s possible move on resorting to several transient solutions before digging deep into other substantial discussions with all the concessionaires.
Stopgap Measure
While passing through 2020, Gaming companies and lawmakers were expected widely to get down to their business pertaining permits, which are to expire in June 2022. However, the pandemic coronavirus had struck in the mid suddenly and led to 15 days of shutting down of all types of land-based casinos in SAR, or the special administrative-region in February. It made the renewal procedure undergo delays.
The license has only 18 months of validity, and the progress in the renewal progress is mingy. To cope with this intrinsic situation, policymakers of Macau might get any options but to adopt quick changes. Such changes may include operating rights extending and public tenders under Macau’s policies.
Several of the big names like MGM Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, and Wynn Resorts are conducting business in the SAR. Galaxy Entertainment and Melco Resorts are two Asian companies with included resorts. Both of them have their headquarters in SJM Holdings and Hong Kong.
Lei Wai Nong, the Economy, and Finance Secretary of Macau, spoke on the renewal procedures. He expected a delay-free renewal in the government’s context, estimating the present gaming policies and developing updates for a rapidly changing industry.
SJM holding had dominated the Macau gaming industry for four decades until 1999. After three years, all the five concessionaires, as mentioned above, had received award license and gross-gaming-revenue, which amounted to almost double from 2009 to 2019. Macquarie has stated that it might be possible to renew licenses at optimal terms, which might not include any change in tax rates; rather, it may include manageable payments of concession and less costly mandates of capital expenditure.
Policymakers of Macau might opt for renewing their gaming permits under the abovementioned terms. In such a case, the outcome may make a decade of licensing period in the place of today’s 20 years period. Macquarie stated that the renewal of licenses after a complete gross-gaming-revenue recovery might offer more negotiating power to the policymakers.
