NPC and CPPCC meetings | Lawrence Ho: Gambling will always remain Macau’s major lure

Lawrence Ho in Beijing

‘Macau ought to strengthen its legal system regarding the gaming industry and re-orient itself towards achieving the goal of diverse economic development at an appropriate pace, advised Lawrence Ho, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), at a panel discussion in Beijing.
During the discussion, the committee member stressed that the city’s gaming industry has always remained inseparable from its economy, given that “it owned the biggest casinos and high-end management talents from the gaming sector in the world, in spite of the plummeting revenue it suffered since last year.” According to the Macao Daily, he defended the gaming industry, claiming it will always remain Macau’s major lure for tourists from around the globe, and that it could pave the way for diversified economic development. He believes that it was difficult for local industries not related to gaming to implement the goal of economic diversification, given its frail foundation.
Citing the television and film production-themed resort “Studio City Macau” to be opened later this year, and the existing “House of Dancing Water” project, which both cost tens of billions of dollars in total,  Ho, head of Melco International Development, believes that projects of this kind would be impossible for non-gaming enterprises. The gaming sector was actually capable of funding the project and providing talent and technology, and even other support in that regard.
Lawrence Ho described the gaming industry as a special case, involving different parties’ interests in a society whose stability is linked to the city’s entire economy, or even social stability. He urged all gaming operators to take full responsibility for securing a “healthy and orderly development” for the gaming sector, by actively responding to the regulative measures as laid out by the SAR government.
Furthermore, he claimed that issues arising from the development of the gaming industry basically stemmed from an incomplete legal mechanism regulating the gaming sector, in which there were loopholes regarding its management. Therefore, it is significant that a sound legal system in the gaming industry has yet to be established in the city.
In the panel discussion, the National Committee member also expressed hopes that Beijing will be “more concerned” with the industry’s development, where there lies a great deal of intricate issues that have baffled the SAR government and the six gaming operators over the course of the adjustment period.
In response to the government’s intention to implement a full smoking ban, Francis Lui, vice chairman of Galaxy Entertainment Group and a member of the CPPCC National Committee, proposed that the idea of smoking rooms at the airport could be applicable to casinos as well, with no staff required to work in that area. According to Lui, the introduction of a three-month smoke-free environment has already caused some casinos abroad a two-digit drop in revenue. Staff reporter