Macau needs to invest more in non-gaming activities in the future
In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Macau Basic Law, Professor Davis Ka Chio FONG, Director of the Gaming Research, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Macau, was interviewed by the Macau Civil Servants’ Federation on “the future development direction and innovative strategies of the gaming industry in Macau, and how to ensure the orderly development of the gaming industry”.
Professor Davis stated that the Macau SAR has a high autonomy to develop tourism and gambling related policies. According to the “One Country, Two Systems” policy and Article 118 of the Macau Basic Law, the government is free to develop tourism and entertainment policies, including the gaming industry. More than 20 years after the return of Macau to the motherland, the first international public tender was held in 2002 and the second in 2022. The two processes, including legislation, public tender documents , and the evaluation process, were all completed by the Macau SAR. During this process, the government decided on the issuance of gambling licenses based on the overall benefits of Macau at the time.
According to the analysis of Professor Davis, the past two decades of gaming operation show that Macau needs to put more non-gaming elements in the future. In the first phase of the contract, there is actually more investment in gaming and non-gaming elements, such as investment in hardware facilities. If statistics are taken until the end of 2022, the six operators of the first contract have invested more than 350 billion. In this case, Macau’s hardware facilities are already quite good, while our software facilities still need to be improved.”
Professor Davis added that after the announcement of the contract, the six gaming companies will invest more than 118 billion in the next ten years, which, if divided by ten years and 365 days per year, means about 32 million patacas per day will be invested in non-gaming activities, “So I have a great vision for the future.” he said. Macau has invested a lot in hardware facilities in the past. In the future, it is necessary to think about how to make good use of the hardware facilities and promote them well to attract more customers with different preferences to Macau, and this is the direction for the next ten years.
Sources: facebook.com.
