Each Macau casino concessionaire has launched gaming zones for foreigners, said on Tuesday the city’s Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng (pictured). The government was “aware” that a total of 12 foreigner-only gaming areas had so far been launched by the city’s six casino operators, he added.
Mr Ho was speaking on Tuesday evening to members of the press at the Macau checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, before leaving Macau on a journey to Europe.
Mr Ho said the government was “pleased” to see the city’s gaming operators were fulfilling their concession pledges, including by providing charter flights to bring foreign patrons to Macau, as international flights have yet to resume to pre-pandemic levels.
Several Macau casino operators have been getting “foreign visitors” arriving via private jets as the companies have been “more keen” on expanding visitor sources beyond the Chinese mainland, post the Covid-19 pandemic, said recently a boss of TAG Aviation Asia (Macau) Ltd.
It was known that the city’s six operators had launched foreigner-only gambling areas in company properties, according to on-site checks by GGRAsia, information from sources, and confirmation from the companies itself.
Most of these zones are located at former junket rooms or premium-gaming areas within those properties, according to GGRAsia checks.
Sources have confirmed to GGRAsia that Wynn Macau Ltd, operator of the Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace casino resorts, has launched a foreigner gaming zone at each of its properties, located at former junket rooms.
On-site checks by GGRAsia had already indicated Galaxy Macau, the Venetian Macao, Studio City, City of Dreams, MGM Cotai, and MGM Macau each have a foreigner-only gambling zone. SJM Holdings Ltd was the only operator to have confirmed to GGRAsia that it has such a zone in one of its properties.
Under the updated regulatory framework for Macau gaming, linked to the new 10-year concessions that started on January 1, the city’s chief executive has the authority to reduce by up to 5 percentage points casino operators’ tax burden on casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by players from “foreign countries,” as a matter of “public interest”.
Macau wants to wean the industry away from dependence on high-stakes gambling by players from the Chinese mainland.
