The France Macau Chamber of Commerce (FMCC) held a webinar titled “Macau Gaming at Crossroads: The Public Tender and Beyond” on Thursday, with the meeting’s panellists providing their thoughts on the future of Macau’s gaming industry.
The panellists comprised 2NT8 Limited Managing Director Alidad Tash, JCO Consultancy founder and CEO Jorge Costa Oliveira and AB Bernstein Managing Director and Senior Analyst Vitaly Umansky. The webinar, which was held via Zoom, was moderated by Macau Business Director José Carlos Matias.
An FMCC statement on the event pointed out that after the new gaming law came into effect, all eyes have been on the September 14 (tomorrow) submission deadline for gaming concession bids. The tender occurs as the gaming industry is “enduring a deep [COVID-19] pandemic-induced recession” and with the city’s economy struggling to get back up amid travel restrictions in Macau and the mainland, the statement said.
The three panellists had a discussion on what the industry in the post-pandemic and post-tender periods could look like, as well as their thoughts on Macau aiming to attract gamblers and other visitors from other jurisdictions. Moreover, thoughts on the development of non-gaming resources and facilities were also provided, and there were also discussions on other areas such as the mainland’s impact on Macau’s gaming industry, as well as the types of tourists the sector ought to attract, among others.
Macau’s three gaming concessions and three sub-concessions expire at the end of this year. The recently amended gaming law states that the government may grant up to six concessions for up to 10 years. No more sub-concessions will be granted. All the six current operators have said they are bidding for the up to six new concessions.
The full discussion is available online and can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX3hIvgcbAw.
This screen capture taken from the video of Thursday’s webinar shows the three panellists Alidad Tash (top left), Jorge Costa Oliveira (bottom right) and Vitaly Umansky (top right), as well as moderator José Carlos Matias (bottom left). Photo: Rui Pastorin
