Macau 'interested' in future casino concession open bid

Lionel Long Vai Tac, Macau's economy and finance minister, has reportedly announced that the Macau government is 'interested' in starting a new bidding process for six existing casino concessions.

The former Portuguese residential area recently extended the casino license held by MGM China Holdings Limited and SJM Holdings Limited for another two years. The move means that all six gambling operators in the city, including Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts Limited's local Sands China Limited and Wynn Macau Limited, are set to expire on June 26, 2022.

Leung made the announcement at an official event this morning, but declined to reveal details, including the scheduled bidding period, or to disclose rumors that the government could consider increasing the overall number of concessions beyond the current cap of six.

"When the game concession expires, the Macau government is expected to open bidding."

Today's event was also attended by various local officials, including Paulo Martins Chan, the city's Office of Game Inspection and Coordination, and we saw details that Mr Leung is currently working on legislation that would allow his office to launch a new bid. However, he reportedly refused to draw on the time scale of the process or what kind of benefits current concessionary crops, including Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited and Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited, would be given. 슬롯

"As I said earlier, we will consider Macau's economic stability, financial security, and China's national security," he said. "We will listen to society's opinion on this issue and consider it in general."

The Hong Kong branch of global brokerage Sanford C Bernstein & Company explained that Macau now has the ability to extend all six concessions for another five years until the end of June 2027.

"But at the moment there is no indication that the government might do so. This is a scenario where there will likely be no new concession-related announcements until after 2020."