It’s here: the Macau authorities have finally announced the names of the operators who will soon be awarded a valuable license that will allow them to operate land-based casinos in the former Portuguese colony for a period of 10 years.
Without much surprise, it is the 6 companies currently operating in China’s special administrative region that have been chosen.
As a result, the Malaysian conglomerate Genting Group failed to win.
The next licenses will last from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2033
At the moment, there are 6 land-based casino operators present in Macau: 3 American groups (Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International) but also 3 Chinese companies (Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Galaxy Entertainment and SJM Holding Limited).
The licenses of these different companies are due to expire at the end of this year after a validity of 20 years. The former Portuguese colony will therefore soon issue new licenses. These will now last 10 years: from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2033.
It was on Saturday, November 26, 2022 that the local authorities finally announced the names of the 6 selected operators. As most specialists have been predicting for a long time, the proposals of the 6 groups already established in the region have been retained. As a result, the offer of the one and only outsider, Genting Group, has been rejected.
Based in Kuala Lumpur, this conglomerate is active in energy, hydrocarbons, leisure and gaming. Among other things, it is known for its Resorts World hotel-casinos in Singapore and Las Vegas. It also operates gaming establishments in the United Kingdom and New York, for example.
At this time, the scores awarded by the bidding committee have not been officially released. It is therefore not known how well Genting Group’s proposal was able to attract attention.
Major investments expected in non-gaming facilities
It is known that Chinese President Xi Jinping wants Macau to distance itself somewhat from the casino sector. Indeed, he considers that the massive amounts of money coming from mainland China that have been transiting through these gaming establishments and the favorable tax laws constitute potential threats to the national security of the People’s Republic.
As a result, he wants the special administrative region to diversify its non-gaming activities. For this reason, each operator will have to invest in facilities unrelated to the casino itself.
It was learned only a few days ago that all of them are required to jointly spend between $12.4 billion and $20 billion in this direction during the term of their next concession.
Whatever happens, it must be recognized that the announcement of the future licenses is excellent news for the 6 land-based casino operators present in Macau.
