The Macau government has not yet approached local casino operator Sands China to discuss a possible expansion of gaming rights, according to Wilfred Wong Yai, president and executive director of Sands China.
Wong’s comments come during a conference call with investment analysts on Wednesday to discuss second-quarter financial results for Sands China’s parent company, Las Vegas Sands.
“As we approach the expiration of the concession period, of course, the extension of the concession period is an option for the government to look at,” Wong said. “But at this stage, there is no official information, there is no confidential information [on this matter],” he added.
The current six Macao casino permits are due to expire in June 2022, unless authorities give the limited form of extensions allowed under existing Macao gaming laws. Those extensions can be made in increments of up to five years from the original 20-year term.
After that, according to many legal experts, the new concessions must be approved through an international range of open bids.
“Obviously, the (concession permit) extension is a very complex issue,” Wong said. “It’s something that the Macau government and the Chinese government should look at very carefully.”
The Sands China executive noted that the timeline for bidding for new gaming rights is getting tighter until June 2022. He pointed out that the Macau government has pledged to hold public consultations on reviewing Macau’s gaming framework before proposing legal changes to the country’s gaming framework.
Mr Wong said the city council election was scheduled for September 12, so related public consultations and amendments to the gaming law were likely to take place only after that.
“I don’t think the government is rushing to renew their licenses because they want to do things right,” Wong said. “There are a lot of legal issues that they have to deal with, like concessions and sub-concessions, and for that, they can only go to the Legislative Council when they have a new Congress.”
During the process of casino liberalization in 2002, there were only three gaming concessions offered in Macau. The concession was given to SJM Resorts Ltd., a subsidiary of SJM Holdings Ltd., Wynn Resorts (Macao) SA, a subsidiary of Wynn Resorts Ltd, and Galaxy Casino SA, which is connected to Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. Local authorities eventually allowed each concession to make sub concessions, allowing MGM China Holdings Ltd, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd. to enter the market. Many legal experts pointed out the weaknesses of the model, with sub-concessors operating ‘virtually’ as concessions.
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