Macao is having to rebuild its identity as the world's casino hub, Nikkei Asia reported on May 11, 2022, as pressure from Beijing and pandemic travel restrictions keep visitors out of the city1.
The report said a sharp decrease in visitor numbers during the pandemic, combined with a tightening of gaming laws, is behind the shift1. Coronavirus restrictions over the previous two years had all but stopped visitors from entering Macao, leaving the Cotai Strip and the rest of the city "eerily quiet," according to the report1. The gaming resorts that line the strip were once busy with tourists and high rollers, it said1.
"Pressure from Beijing and pandemic travel rules are forcing the gamer's paradise to diversify"
The report described the change as a rebranding of Macao's identity as the world's casino hub, and said gaming companies have not been sitting still despite the lull in business1. It did not give figures for the fall in visitor numbers, the size of the gaming industry's losses, or the specific contents of the tightened gaming laws1. No timeline for the diversification, and no named companies or projects, were reported1.
What it means for players
Macao's casinos remain the main legal gambling destination for players from mainland China, Hong Kong and elsewhere in the region, and the report does not say any of them have closed1. What it describes is a city whose casino floors depend on visitors who, for two years, largely stopped coming, and a gaming industry operating under tighter laws and pressure from Beijing1. For anyone planning a trip, the practical picture in the report is one of reduced visitor traffic and a market in transition rather than a shutdown1. The report gives no detail on table limits, game availability, entry requirements or how the tightened laws affect ordinary customers1. Details of Macao's entry rules and any changes to casino operations at the time of travel have not been reported here1.
What happens next
The report sets out no dated next steps, no deadlines for new legislation and no schedule for the diversification it describes1. It does not say when pandemic travel restrictions might ease or what form Macao's new identity will take1.
For background on the territory's gaming market, see Can I Gamble in Macau? and the History of Gambling in Macau. Players based in mainland China can find related guidance on gambling abroad when you live in China and on what happens if you are caught gambling in China.
