As part of its upcoming licensing of six new casino concessionaires and the government of Macau could reportedly soon oblige operators to commit to hitting minimum annual gross gaming revenue targets.

According to a report from GGRAsia, draft legislation currently being considered in the former Portuguese enclave may feature a clause that would tie licensed casino operators to meeting annual gross gaming revenue targets based upon their compliments of slot and table games. The source detailed that such a provision would come complete with an initial two-year breather but thereafter compel firms that have missed their thresholds to pay a commensurate fine.

Current concessionaires:

Macau is home to over 40 casinos operated by SJM Holdings Limited, Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, MGM China Holdings Limited and the local Sands China Limited and Wynn Macau Limited subordinates of Las Vegas Sands Corporation and Wynn Resorts Limited respectively. Every one of these companies is expected to have their licenses renewed from June for an additional ten-year period although no details on how this fresh tendering process will run or when it is to take place have yet been released.

Failure forfeiture:

GGRAsia reported that licensed casino operators in Macau falling short of their annual gross gaming revenue targets in the future could be required to forfeit a ‘premium’ of any difference between their actual and expected tax bills. Any underperforming operators could then furthermore purportedly be hit with the embarrassment of having some of their compliment of games taken away should they miss their mark for two consecutive years.

Static status:

Macau features some of the world’s largest and most famous gambling venues and charges every one of these facilities a 35% gross gaming revenues tax alongside smaller duties for every live dealer table, gaming machine and VIP room they operate to take the effective rate up to roughly 39%. Although the government recently revealed that it has no plans to increase this regime, it will now reportedly look to utilize fines and potential forfeitures to keep its coffers full in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Pessimistic prediction:

GGRAsia moreover reported that Macau will likely record a significant decrease in its tax income from casino gaming this year owing to the impacts of the pandemic and a drop in VIP gaming receipts due to its decision to ban junket enterprises. Nevertheless, the city’s aggregated annual gross gaming revenues for 2021 purportedly improved by 43.7% year-on-year to slightly over $10.81 billion although this figure was still some 79.3% down on 2019’s finishing tally of roughly $36.44 billion.