Inside Asian Gaming

IAG FEB 2023年2月 亞博匯 86 COLUMNISTS G aming has played a significant role in the rapid economic growth of Macau over the past two decades. The success story of Macau has also inspired other Asian economies to promote tourism through casino development. With the kick-off of the new concession period coinciding with the lifting of pandemic restrictions, the local gaming industry is off to a good start. The next big task for Macau is its resolve to diversify the economy away from gaming and identify Macau as a city of tourism events. This article discusses the prospects of the “Macau 2.0” project from the perspectives of history, policy and operations management. DIVERSIFICATION: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Despite the lack of a universal definition, the United Nations describes the concept of economic diversification as “the process of shifting an economy away from a single income source toward multiple sources froma growing range of sectors.” Looking back at the history of Macau, the gaming industry has always served as a means to support the city’s economic development. Since its inception in 1847, commercial gaming was strategically employed to diversify the local economy against the city’s decline as a hub for international trade, particularly after the British acquisition of Hong Kong in 1842. Likewise, 2001 saw the gaming industry liberalized due to external and internal factors.