New round of casino concession contracts takes effect

Macau's new round of casino concession contracts came into force on 1 January 2023, the government's official yearbook states¹. The contracts were signed on 16 December 2022 at the Financial Services Bureau notary office, and each runs for ten years, from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2032².

The process began earlier. The legal framework for casino gaming operations and its supporting regulations took effect on 23 June 2022, and in July the government began the re-tender for casino concessions¹. Wynn Resorts (Macau) S.A. was provisionally awarded a concession on 25 November 2022 and formally awarded it on 16 December 2022⁵. The government's yearbook records that six gaming companies are currently authorized to hold casino gaming rights in Macau as independent legal persons¹.

The contracts set out what each concessionaire may and may not operate. The concession covers casino gaming but excludes parimutuel betting, operations offered to the public, interactive gaming, and gaming, betting or operations on board ships or aircraft². Each contract names the casinos the operator may run, and casinos must sit in property the concessionaire owns². Casinos must open twenty-four hours a day, without interruption, every day of the year².

Financial and corporate conditions are fixed in the contracts. A concessionaire's share capital may not be less than MOP 5 billion, and its net asset value may not fall below that amount during the term². The managing director must be a permanent resident of Macau and hold at least 15% of the concessionaire's share capital². Concessionaires and companies that are their controlling shareholders may not list on a stock exchange³. Each must provide an independent bank guarantee of MOP 1 billion, running from 1 January 2023 until one hundred and eighty days after the contract ends or the concession is terminated².

Annual premium payments are also specified. The fixed portion is MOP 30 million a year². The variable portion of the annual premium may not be lower than the amount payable for operating 500 gaming tables and 1,000 gaming machines². Special gaming tax is paid monthly, by the tenth day of the following month².

As of the end of the second quarter of 2025, Macau had 30 casinos operating, with 52,898 full-time gaming employees, up 380 year on year, and average full-time pay of MOP 27,390, up 2.4%¹.

What it means for players

The contracts govern the operators, not the rules players follow at the table, but they shape what is available. The named casinos in each contract are the venues those operators are authorized to run, so the list of licensed casinos and integrated resorts in Macau follows from these documents. The contracts bar interactive gaming and betting on ships or aircraft under these concessions, so online and shipboard play sit outside this licensing round. Casinos must stay open twenty-four hours a day, without interruption, every day of the year, except in cases the Chief Executive requests or authorizes, or in emergencies such as serious accidents, disasters or natural catastrophes, where suspension and resumption need the gaming bureau's agreement². Entry rules, minimum ages and what visitors may play are separate matters from the concession terms.

What happens next

Each concessionaire must submit to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau every three years for a review of its overall performance under the contract³. Concessionaires must send the bureau a list each December showing the number of gaming tables and machines they intend to operate the following year, and where². The contracts run to 31 December 2032².