Macau Jockey Club | Gov’t unable to account for missing revenues in ledger

The Government Spokesperson’s Office has denied reports made by Radio Macau that the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) has not paid its rent for the concession since 2009, arguing that the horseracing company has been paying according to the expected timeframe.

However, the authorities were unable to answer queries as to why the official records show no such payments have been made.

Citing the Macau SAR Budget Execution Reports, which detail the expected and actual revenues collected by the government, Radio Macau reported on Sunday that the MJC has not been paying the rent for its concession.

However, according to the Government Spokesperson’s Office, the Finance Bureau has confirmed that the company has not missed any of its payments.

The official records show that, in 2016, the Macau SAR Budget Execution Report makes no mention – for the first time – of an expected collection of rent income from the concessionaire.

From 2012 to 2015, the budget reports note an expected revenue of MOP12.5 million per year from the MJC, however the actual revenue amounted to zero patacas in each year.

The government says it is also demanding “other fees due” and that the MJC has since 2015 been paying “annually a fixed amount.” This could not be verified as, according to Radio Macau, the income is not recorded in public documents.

In a statement issued yesterday by the government, the Finance Bureau denied that the company was behind on its payments. It could not explain why the records show that no actual revenue was collected by the government and refused to comment further on the matter.

The government recently approved an extension of the horse racing concession until August 2042 on the basis of a commitment from the company to invest at least MOP1.5 billion on improving its facilities and developing non-gaming activities.