Legislative Assembly passes revision of Law No. 16/2001

Macau's Legislative Assembly passed the "Revision of Law No. 16/2001 'Legal Framework for the Operations of Casino Games of Fortune'" on 21 June 2022¹. The revised law, amended by Law No. 7/2022, was published in the Macau SAR official Gazette on 22 June 2022¹. The government said the revision was made "to cope with the commencement of the public tender for the Macao casino gaming concessions"¹.

The revision followed a 45-day public consultation on proposed changes to Law No. 16/2001, held from 15 September to 29 October 2021¹. One session was held for gaming operators and gaming promoters and eight public sessions were held, with opinions also collected through other means¹. The final report on the consultation was released on 23 December 2021, and the bureau said it was "generally agreed that the revision of gaming law is beneficial to the healthy and orderly development of the gaming industry of Macao"¹.

The original Law No. 16/2001 was passed by the Legislative Assembly in August 2001 and set out operating requirements, the eligibility of major shareholders and casino management, and the gaming tax¹. It followed the expiry of the STDM concession on 31 December 2001, after which the Macau SAR granted three gaming concessions¹. On 8 February 2002 the government announced the bidding results, granting concessions to Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, Galaxy Casino, S.A. and Wynn Resorts (Macao) S.A.¹.

On 23 June 2022, with the existing concession and sub-concession contracts due to expire on 26 June 2022, the MSAR Government approved extending the contracts of the three existing concessionaires and their three sub-concessionaires until 31 December 2022, to ensure the public tender process ran smoothly¹. The amended contracts were signed on 23 June 2022².

What it means for players

The revision changed the legal framework that governs casino gambling in Macau, covering the concession system, operating conditions, shareholder and management eligibility, and gaming tax¹. For anyone gambling in the city, the practical effect in the weeks after 21 June 2022 was continuity: the six existing operators kept running their casinos under extended contracts until 31 December 2022 while the government prepared a new tender¹. The bureau's account does not set out the specific rule changes in the revised law, so the detailed effect on players has not been reported in these sources.

What happens next

The government opened a new round of public bidding for casino gaming concessions, with seven companies submitting bids². On 16 December 2022 the Chief Executive issued Executive Orders No. 218/2022 through 223/2022 granting the new concessions to MGM Grand Paradise S.A., Galaxy Casino, S.A., Venetian Macau, S.A., Melco Resorts (Macau) S.A., Wynn Resorts (Macao), S.A. and SJM Resorts, S.A.¹. The concession contracts were signed the same day, effective from 1 January 2023².