Paulo Martins Chan, an assistant public prosecutor-general in Macau, will be the next head of the Macau gaming regulator, the city’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, told reporters on Friday.
Mr Chan will replace Manuel Joaquim das Neves as director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. Mr Neves is retiring on November 25.
The new appointment will become effective on December 1.
Mr Chan has a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in criminal law. He was nominated as a magistrate for the Public Prosecutions Office in 1999 by former Macau chief executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah.
Mr Chan speaks both Chinese and Portuguese, Macau’s two official languages. The latter is widely used in law practice and in legal matters.
Mr Leong stated Mr Chan was a suitable candidate to head the city’s gaming regulator because of his strong legal knowledge and language skills.The official added that key tasks for Mr Chan would include the enhancement and strengthening of gaming-related regulations.
Investment analysts covering the Macau sector attribute a recent decline in Macau gaming revenue to several factors, including the ongoing anti-corruption drive in mainland China, a slowdown in the Chinese economy and increased official scrutiny in Macau of the junket system.
The city’s casino gaming gross revenue (GGR) monthly tally has fallen for 17 consecutive months, judged year-on-year, since June last year. Macau’s accumulated GGR for the first 10 months of 2015 stood at MOP196.07 billion (US$24.6 billion), a fall of 35.5 percent compared to the same period in 2014.
