The boss of one of the main casino gaming equipment suppliers in the Macau market has called on fellow manufacturers to show understanding for the local regulator and focus on the business opportunities presented by local government policy.
Jay Chun, chairman of Paradise Entertainment Ltd, parent of the LT Game brand, added that Macau’s recent emphasis on mass market tourism and the mass gambling segment rather than VIP table gaming, presented “a very good opportunity” for all the manufacturers.
Macau casino operators have mentioned separately to GGRAsia that on occasions the time taken to gain approvals from the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, also known as DICJ – for changes or additions to the city’s slot and electronic gaming table floors – can make it hard for casinos to respond in a timely way to changes in customer taste.
Mr Chun said: “Even the DICJ experiences the shortage of labour we have in Macau. So it also takes them time to recruit staff. We continue to talk to the regulator and the casino side, to help our members sell more product to the casinos.”
The entrepreneur is also chairman of the Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association. The body is the organiser of the Macao Gaming Show, a trade exhibition that starts its 2015 edition on Tuesday at Cotai Expo at the Venetian Macao.
Mr Chun was speaking on Thursday on the sidelines of an event to launch a display gallery of custom-built Harley Davidson motorcycles. The gallery is in the building that is home to Casino Kam Pek Paradise, a property managed by Paradise Entertainment under the gaming licence of Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd, and that uses a large amount of LT Game product.
Mr Chun added, referring to public policy on the Macau gaming industry: “When we look at the current policy, we all understand it involves encouraging the casinos to develop their mass market [offer]. And for the mass market, I think everybody knows they [the casinos] need more machines.
“This is a very good opportunity for all the manufacturers now, to gain more business in Macau,” he stated.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macau Government Tourist Office, also attended Thursday’s gallery launch, She gave some commentary on the city government’s policy aim of making Macau a “world centre of tourism and leisure”. The government announced on October 28 that it was setting up a committee chaired by Macau’s Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On to develop that policy.
Ms Senna Fernandes told GGRAsia: “We can’t talk about the Macau story without gaming as well. It is definitely part of the entire mix of what makes Macau. We are emphasising now the non-gaming elements because on the gaming side we have already achieved worldwide renown. But it is important that we leverage on that worldwide name to bring up also the different facets of Macau.”
Examples of that approach she said, were to develop the worldwide appeal of the Macau Grand Prix. The annual motorsport event begins its 62nd edition on November 19.
“To do that [develop general tourism] you cannot just rely on the tourism industry itself. It should be something that the entire population should be able participate in… to be welcoming to tourists,” stated the MGTO boss.
