• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Sunday 28 September 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

Macau Gaming Law series part 11: 10-year concessions hamper investment in Macau

Andrew W Scott by Andrew W Scott
Sun 3 Apr 2022 at 17:53
2021: Japan IR – Crunch time part 2

Galaxy Macau

41
SHARES
1k
VIEWS
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Welcome to the eleventh in a series of articles on the Macau gaming law IAG is publishing throughout the month of March and early April:

Part Date Article
1 Wed 2 Mar Here comes the extension … 26 June now seems impossible
2 Fri 4 Mar Cross-shareholding provisions crossing the line?
3 Mon 7 Mar Problematic consequences of the satellite purge
4 Wed 9 Mar Does the chip cap need a rethink?
5 Fri 11 Mar Reversion of gaming areas – a problem no one is talking about
6 Mon 14 Mar Directors’ liability – changing centuries of corporate law?
7 Mon 16 Mar Junkets, collaborators and concessionaire liability
8 Fri 25 Mar Minimum income – a stealthy gaming tax rate hike?
9 Mon 28 Mar National Security – a get out of jail free card for the government?
10 Fri 1 Apr Confusion reigns over so-called “Managing Director” shareholding
11 Sun 3 Apr 10-year concessions hamper investment in Macau
12 Wed 6 Apr Too broad suitability checks will dilute their effectiveness
13 Thu 7 Apr Provisions regarding other jurisdictions can cause legal conflict
14 Fri 8 Apr And that’s a wrap – where to from here?

One of the biggest changes to the Macau gaming law has been the shift from 20-year concessions to 10-year concessions. The Macau government put forth arguments to justify this in its report on the gaming law public consultation released on 23 December 2021, saying, “the current investment environment and land resources differ from the situation of the public tender held in 2002.” The report also cited a view that “[since] the casino equipment and facilities will revert to the Macau SAR at the end of the current concession period, new concessionaires may not need the time to build casinos, so the period of concession after the revision of the law should not be too long.” It’s almost as if the government is saying that Macau is built, so we don’t need to build anymore.

However, this view misses three key factors.

The first of these is the inexorable shift to the mass market. Even before the demise of the junket industry we have been witnessing over the past few months, the structure of Macau’s GGR has been shifting from VIP towards premium mass and mass play. This means more visitors (but less gambling by each visitor), which in turn means more demand for hotel rooms. More hotel rooms means more hotels, which means more investment.

Las Vegas has, depending on precisely how you define the city limits, around 160,000 hotel rooms. At last check Macau has just over 40,000 – only a quarter of its US counterpart and certainly way less than we need for a purely mass-driven market.

The second key factor is the need for ongoing refurbishment. For Macau’s IRs to continue to offer the world-class five-star offering they do, hotel rooms and other property hardware needs to be kept modern, fresh and up to date. The typical life cycle of a five-star IR hotel room offering is around seven years. After that time, hotels and other public spaces need to be refurbished to keep their wow factor. Once again, this means more investment in the form of capex – on an ongoing and cyclical basis.

The third factor to consider here is the reality of the “lost COVID years.” Both 2020 and 2021 were write-offs for the Macau IR industry, and 2022 is shaping up that way too, with Q1 GGR down 77% on the first quarter of 2019. Morgan Stanley recently noted that industry debt has risen from around US$5 billion pre-COVID to US$20 billion at the end of 2021. These “COVID years” are simply being lost from the concession period – with the concessionaires booking ongoing losses that need to be recouped in the presumably better years to come, before they can finally start thinking about turning a profit once again.

Far from Macau’s capex investment cycle being over, the shift to mass with its demand for more hotel rooms and the need to constantly refurbish means the concessionaires need to continually invest. But with only a guaranteed 10 years to recoup investments – and with likely three years of the 2020s lost to COVID – is this long enough to act as a real incentive for the concessionaires to make the investments Macau needs?

The historians amongst you will remember the two monopoly concession periods prior to the current concession period were 40 years apiece – so over the past century the three concession periods have averaged around 33 years in length. The reduction to 10 years is yet another factor making Macau less attractive to commercial gaming operators.

The next article in this series will be published in the next few days.

Part Date Article
1 Wed 2 Mar Here comes the extension … 26 June now seems impossible
2 Fri 4 Mar Cross-shareholding provisions crossing the line?
3 Mon 7 Mar Problematic consequences of the satellite purge
4 Wed 9 Mar Does the chip cap need a rethink?
5 Fri 11 Mar Reversion of gaming areas – a problem no one is talking about
6 Mon 14 Mar Directors’ liability – changing centuries of corporate law?
7 Mon 16 Mar Junkets, collaborators and concessionaire liability
8 Fri 25 Mar Minimum income – a stealthy gaming tax rate hike?
9 Mon 28 Mar National Security – a get out of jail free card for the government?
10 Fri 1 Apr Confusion reigns over so-called “Managing Director” shareholding
11 Sun 3 Apr 10-year concessions hamper investment in Macau
12 Wed 6 Apr Too broad suitability checks will dilute their effectiveness
13 Thu 7 Apr Provisions regarding other jurisdictions can cause legal conflict
14 Fri 8 Apr And that’s a wrap – where to from here?

RelatedPosts

MGM China to remodel its Macau integrated resorts to add more MICE and arts space

MGM China issues warning over deepfake video of Chairperson and Executive Director Pansy Ho

Fri 26 Sep 2025 at 04:28
Melco volunteers assist Macau community affected by Super Typhoon Ragasa

Melco volunteers assist Macau community affected by Super Typhoon Ragasa

Fri 26 Sep 2025 at 04:27
Days after satellite casino Grand Dragon ceases operations, Melco completes closure of first Mocha slot club Kuong Fat

Days after satellite casino Grand Dragon ceases operations, Melco completes closure of first Mocha slot club Kuong Fat

Thu 25 Sep 2025 at 16:24
Macau casinos reopen after lengthy 33-hour closure due to Super Typhoon Ragasa

Macau casinos reopen after lengthy 33-hour closure due to Super Typhoon Ragasa

Thu 25 Sep 2025 at 05:15
Load More
Tags: casino licensesconcessionairesGaming LawgovernmentMacau
Share16Share3
Andrew W Scott

Andrew W Scott

Born in Australia, Andrew is a gaming industry expert and media publisher, commentator and journalist who moved to Hong Kong in 2005 and then Macau in 2009, when he founded O MEDIA, one of Macau’s largest media companies, former and parent company of Inside Asian Gaming (IAG). Both O MEDIA and IAG were merged with US-based gaming media brand CDC Gaming on 1 January 2025, under new corporate parent Complete Media Group (CMG).

Andrew was appointed CEO of Complete Media Group upon the merger. CMG is now the parent of three gaming media brands: Inside Asian Gaming (focusing on land-based gaming in the Asia-Pacific region), CDC Gaming (focusing on land-based gaming in the Americas), and Complete iGaming (focusing on online gaming in the Americas and APAC).

Andrew continues to be Vice Chairman and CEO of IAG and now-sister company O MEDIA.

Current Issue

Editorial – Flipping the script

Editorial – Flipping the script

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 28 Aug 2025 at 12:30

This month represents an important milestone for Inside Asian Gaming as we launch IAG EXPO – an expansion of the...

Asia market roundup

Asia market roundup

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 28 Aug 2025 at 12:26

Inside Asian Gaming takes a deep dive into the state of Asia-Pacific’s key gaming markets: who’s hot, who’s not and...

Rewriting the rules

Rewriting the rules

by Newsdesk
Thu 28 Aug 2025 at 11:43

IAG EXPO, taking place at Newport World Resorts from 8 to 10 September, is not your usual trade show. IAG...

Test of character

Test of character

by Newsdesk
Thu 28 Aug 2025 at 11:28

Since its establishment in 1989, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) has developed into the world’s most trusted name when it comes...

Evolution Asia
Evolution Asia
Aristocrat
GLI
Nustar
SABA
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
NWR
NWR

Related Posts

IEC issues profit warning on widened losses through December 2021

IEC falls to US$36 million loss in FY25 but 200% increase in gaming revenues suggests bright future for Manila IR project

by Ben Blaschke
Sat 27 Sep 2025 at 11:56

Hong Kong-listed International Entertainment Corp (IEC) said it remains confident in the long-term prospects of its Manila hotel and casino project after booking a 200% year-on-year increase in gaming revenue in the 12 months to 30 June 2025. While increased...

1xBet celebrates role as industry flagship at SBC Summit 2025

1xBet celebrates role as industry flagship at SBC Summit 2025

by Newsdesk
Sat 27 Sep 2025 at 11:32

Global sports betting brand 1xBet has celebrated its participation in this year’s SBC Summit, noting that its standing as Premium Sponsor highlighted the company’s role in industry growth and the significance of the European region for the brand. 1xBet said...

Football the focus as Vietnam revises sports betting decree

Vietnam considering revised US$380 daily betting cap on international football

by Newsdesk
Sat 27 Sep 2025 at 09:06

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance wants to update the maximum amount individuals can bet on international football matches per day, with the current VND1 million (US$38) allowed per category to be replaced by a daily limit of VND10 million (US$380 million),...

FBM to unveil multiple slot title premieres at G2E in Las Vegas

FBM to unveil multiple slot title premieres at G2E in Las Vegas

by Newsdesk
Sat 27 Sep 2025 at 08:45

Industry supplier FBM has outlined the product range it will showcase at the upcoming Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, headed by new slot titles “Lanterns of Fu” and Hippo’s Lock”. Located in Booth 2848, FBM said it would...

Your browser does not support the video tag.


IAG

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • 中文

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • 中文
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • 中文
  • English