Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | March 2011 20 Policy Outlook T he Macau government and lawmakers probably thought they were being kind to casino operators by agreeing to only a limited smoking ban on the territory’s casino floors. Under the tobacco control lawsubmitted indraft formtoMacau’s LegislativeAssembly, bars, dance halls and saunas will have three years to implement a total smoking ban, but casinos will only be required to set up partial smoking bans within one year of the law coming into force. Under the bill, up to 50% of casino floors can remain smoker-friendly. In reality, it might have been kinder for the government to be cruel and go for a total smoking ban in casinos on the same three-year timetable as bars, or at least insist on a minority area for smokers. That’s because a 50:50 split on the floor could be a marketing and logistical nightmare for casino operators. Because 85%of Macau’s gaming revenue is from live baccarat, the quickest fix would probably be for casinos to keep all the live table baccarat areas as smoking zones and limit the no smoking zones to the slots and other table games. But that rather defeats the object of protecting the health and comfort of non-smokers who also happen to be baccarat players. It would also be a significant attack on the rights for the slot and multi-terminal suppliers to be given a fair shake on the floor. And because theMacau government has indicated it expects partitions to be set up between smoking and non-smoking zones, a 50:50 split on the floor would not only look ugly but also significantly reduce the mousetrap effect that helps to keep people playing and spending money in a property. Under the draft legislation, an operator is not obliged to exercise the right to have up to 50% of the space for smokers. The operator could even choose to go smoke free. But in such a fiercely competitive market, with so many customers from mainland China who are smokers, it would take a brave management to risk affecting the bottom line with an act of public altruism. Even if the floor were effectively to be split down the middle with a mix of games in both areas reflecting the general tastes of the Macau players; that still potentially creates significant challenges and cost implications for the operators. Arguably such a scenario would boost the case for server-based slot gaming in Macau. If it does turn out that smokers have different slot game and slot play preferences to non-smokers, it would be a lot easier for casinos to respond to that player demand by removing or installing a game remotely down a wire, than to physically move cabinets around between smoking and non-smoking areas or install new games on the floor by hand. Secondly, the social engineering of a Macau government policy on smoking won’t have an overnight impact on the tobacco consumption habits of the one third of Chinese adults who smoke. According to a report published last August in the English- language version of People’s Daily, 53% of adult males in China smoke, as do 50% of medical doctors in China. With the massed ranksofMacau’ssmokinggamblerssqueezed into half the floor area instead of spread Kind to be Cruel? Macau’s anti-smoking proposals for casinos Embracing the habit—the majority of adult males in China are smokers