Macau Gambling Changes Could Be Revealed In Tuesday Speech

The Macau government is pleased with the idea that their casino gambling industry has become the biggest in the world. The government, however, fears that Macau relies too heavily on gambling to survive.

That prompted meetings for the past couple of months with the topic being ways to curb and cap the gambling industry. Those with casino interests around the world have been waiting for the results of these meetings.

Tomorrow, Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui is expected to give his first policy speech, and everyone will be watching. Chui has not revealed what will be said in the address, but the rumors are that it will be a major part of the speech.

The economy in Macau is booming thanks to the recent surge in casino revenue, but the government fears that the social ills caused by the expanded gambling will be bad for Macau in the long run. Chui's first order of business since his regime took over from Edmund Ho was to diversify the economy.

The most anticipated change to the industry will be a cap on the amount of tables in Macau. That could severely slow the expansion plans of some of the biggest casino operators in the world.

Las Vegas Sands and MGM Mirage both have interests in Macau. Sands is leading the way in Macau with their expansion plans, which are massive, but a cap on the number of tables allowed could cause the company to tone back those plans.

Macau has overcome Las Vegas and is now the biggest gambling destination in the world. When Macau did away with Stanley Ho's monopoly in the industry, Las Vegas companies almost immediately began building casino resorts just off the mainland of China.

March 15, 2010
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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