Gaming | Concessions likely to be extended again if law not ready

Set to expire in June 2022, the current gaming licenses could again be extended if the new gaming law that will set the rules for the new concession tender is not ready in time, Chief Executive (CE) Ho Iat Seng said yesterday.
Ho was speaking at a press conference organized to respond to media questions about the government’s Policy Address for 2022.
In response to questions on the topic, the CE said, “after the [new] law is complete, we will gradually implement the relevant work. There is no need to worry about this [because] If the work [cannot] be completed on time, we can do an emergency extension of the contract. We already have a mechanism that allows this. If we don’t have the [new] law ready in time, we can extend,” he said.
Ho added, “everything needs to be done in a lawful fashion. We have nine major points to be revised and regulated [in the new law]. By the end of next year, we need to know our development orientation.”
He hinted that the new gaming license tender would not be ready any time in 2022 and potentially will only take place in 2023 or even later.
The new legal regime draft underwent a public consultation period that finished at the end of last month.
According to the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, there will now be a six month period for the compilation of all opinions collected and integration of some of these into the final bill. The final bill will then start the legislative process which is not likely to finish before the last quarter of 2022.
Only after the law is finally approved and enters into force can the government start the new public tender process, which has also to undergo several lengthy bureaucratic and legal procedures.