The most senior legislator in Macau has reportedly announced that there is no need for his fellow lawmakers to delay the launch of a new public tender designed to decide who will be allowed to operate casinos in the enclave following the expiration of the city’s current six concessions in 2022.

Responding to questions:

According to a Thursday report from, Fernando Chui Sai On (pictured), Chief Executive for Macau, made the revelation earlier that same day as part of a question-and-answer session with members of the city’s Legislative Assembly but did not specify a desired start-date for any such international tendering process.

Existing six concessions:

GGRAsia reported that the former Portuguese enclave recently extended by a further two years the casino licenses held by operators MGM China Holdings Limited and SJM Holdings Limited. This move means that all of the enclave’s half-dozen gambling operators, which also include Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited and Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited as well as the local Sands China Limited and Wynn Macau Limited subordinates of Las Vegas Sands Corporation and Wynn Resorts Limited respectively, are now due to see their licenses expire on June 26, 2022.

Public tender possibility:

However, Macau has yet to decide who will be permitted to run casinos after the conclusion of these 20-year licenses although the city’s Economy and Finance Secretary, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, declared last month that the local government is ‘inclined’ towards launching a new tendering process.

Chui reportedly told the assembled legislators…

“I think that the Macau government now has sufficient conditions to launch a public tender and that involves some internal work and amendments to existing legislation.”

Required revisions:

Regarding these ‘amendments’, Chui highlighted Administrative Regulation 26/2001, which lays out the specific terms and conditions for such tenders, alongside the gaming frameworks enumerated in Law 16/2001. He hinted that any such changes could involve the inclusion of specific language that would require all new concessionaires to increase the provision of non-gaming elements while introducing enhanced social safeguards for their employees.

Chui stated…

“As to whether we will authorize a [short-term] extension for the gaming operators, I think we now have sufficient conditions [to launch a public tender]. For instance, we have sufficient time to make amendments to [existing] legislation and time to prepare the tender. So, at this moment I don’t see any need for delaying the tender.”

Public parlay:

Finally, Chui added that authorities had already begun some of the preparatory work required to hold such a tender and would be ‘happy to listen to public opinion’ as part of the process.