Six Macau casino licenses due to expire in June 2022

Macau's six gaming concessions were due to expire in June 2022, the government said, as the Executive Council completed its discussion of a draft bill amending the legal regime for gaming operations¹. The bill was to be sent to the Legislative Assembly for deliberation¹.

It also raises the capital requirement for concessionaires to 5 billion patacas and lifts the shareholding of the permanent managing director, who must be a permanent resident of Macau, to 15 percent¹. The bill was proposed to take effect the day after publication, but the provisions raising company capital and the managing director's shareholding would not apply to existing concessionaires¹.

Macau's six operators currently run under a "three primary, three sub" arrangement. The primary licenses are held by SJM Holdings, Wynn Macau and Galaxy Entertainment, which each sub-conceded to MGM China, Melco and Sands China respectively¹.

A separate report said the licenses originally due to expire on June 26 would be extended to December 31, with the new concession bidding expected to be carried out and completed in the second half of the year². The same report said the Legislative Assembly's second standing committee was reviewing the bill, with industry estimates that the review could be completed around June 10, and that the third stage, signing and publication, was expected before August 15². The Legislative Assembly's session runs from October 16 to August 15 of the following year².

The report also said the committee proposed a moderate reduction in gaming tax to encourage operators to attract overseas visitors, noting the current tax rate is about 40 percent (35 plus 5 percent), with 5 percent as a special allocation for social security: 3 percent for urban development, tourism promotion and social security funding, and 2 percent for the Macau social public foundation². It said Macau has 22 satellite casinos, 14 of them under SJM, and that at least seven had expressed an intention to close when their licenses expire². Under the latest proposal, satellite casinos could continue operating in premises not owned by the concessionaire after a three-year transition period and would transform into management companies².

What it means for players

The concessions under which Macau's casinos operate were due to lapse in June 2022, and a separate report said they would be extended to December 31¹. Until the new concessions are awarded and the amended law takes effect, the licensing basis for the casinos players visit in Macau is in transition. The draft bill would bar sub-concessions, so the current "three primary, three sub" structure would not continue in its present form¹. The bill would also require casinos to be located in property owned by the concessionaire, with a three-year transition for existing operators¹. The report on satellite casinos said at least seven had signaled they would close at license expiry, while the latest proposal would let the rest continue as management companies². Which venues remain open, and under what arrangement, has not been finally reported.

What happens next

The bill was to go to the Legislative Assembly¹. A separate report said the second standing committee's review could finish around June 10, with the final stage expected before August 15, and that new concession bidding would follow the law's passage².