Secretary confirms: public consultation on casinos to launch this year

The public consultation on Macau’s gaming concessionaire contracts will launch this year, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong has assured lawmakers.

Speaking at the policy address for the areas under his purview, Lei announced that the government will launch the public consultation before it prepares the legislation for the new casino tenders.

With just two years left on the clock, lawmakers pressed the government this afternoon for more information on the public consultation

The current gaming concessions for all six casino operators will expire in June 2022. Aside from a suspected requirement that the new concessions will come with diversification written into the contracts, very little information has yet been confirmed by the government.

Secretary Lei said that the government will make sure that non-gaming elements are included into the concessionaire contracts. He also said that the inclusion of local SMEs in the “gaming cake” was an important aspect for this administration.

Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng announced last week that the government would launch a public consultation. He said the process of preparing the new concessionaire agreements was “a long procedure and will not be concluded this year.” DB/RM