IAG (Inside Asian Gaming) write..
Welcome to the thirteenth and penultimate in a series of articles on the Macau gaming law IAG is publishing throughout the month of March and early April:
| Part | Date | Article |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wed 2 Mar | Here comes the extension … 26 June now seems impossible |
| 2 | Fri 4 Mar | Cross-shareholding provisions crossing the line? |
| 3 | Mon 7 Mar | Problematic consequences of the satellite purge |
| 4 | Wed 9 Mar | Does the chip cap need a rethink? |
| 5 | Fri 11 Mar | Reversion of gaming areas – a problem no one is talking about |
| 6 | Mon 14 Mar | Directors’ liability – changing centuries of corporate law? |
| 7 | Mon 16 Mar | Junkets, collaborators and concessionaire liability |
| 8 | Fri 25 Mar | Minimum income – a stealthy gaming tax rate hike? |
| 9 | Mon 28 Mar | National Security – a get out of jail free card for the government? |
| 10 | Fri 1 Apr | Confusion reigns over so-called “Managing Director” shareholding |
| 11 | Sun 3 Apr | 10-year concessions hamper investment in Macau |
| 12 | Wed 6 Apr | Too broad suitability checks will dilute their effectiveness |
| 13 | Thu 7 Apr | Provisions regarding other jurisdictions can cause legal conflict |
| 14 | Fri 8 Apr | And that’s a wrap – where to from here? |
Putting aside the past few years with its shocks of COVID and the economic decoupling we are currently witnessing because of the conflict in Ukraine, the modern-day world is highly interconnected. It’s not unusual to see large companies operating globally – just look at tech companies like Apple, Google and Facebook – er, sorry, Meta. The rise of social media and the ubiquitousness of YouTube mean that cultural, social and economic borders between nations are being blurred as part of the relentless march of globalization.
So too with our very own IR industry. The liberalization of the Macau gaming industry at the turn of the century saw three of the US big four – MGM, Sands and Wynn – enter Asia via the Macau gaming market. The fourth of that quartet, Caesars, has repeatedly expressed its desire to expand to Asia whilst repeatedly dropping the ball in doing so. Sands has experienced great success with Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and MGM will likely open an IR in Osaka, Japan – eventually.
Galaxy, surely the greatest example of a success story for Asian home-grown IR companies, has vigorously pursued opportunities in Japan and the Philippines as well as acquiring around 5% of both SBM in Monaco and of Wynn Resorts in the US. Australia’s Crown Resorts acquired Aspinalls in London, and eagerly explored the US market for years. Japan’s Sega Sammy is a 45% joint venture partner in Korea’s Paradise City IR at Incheon, and leading Philippines IR company Bloomberry Resorts, owner and operator of Solaire at Manila’s Entertainment City, owns Jeju Sun on the Korean island of Jeju and over the years has made no secret of its international expansion plans. SkyCity, a New Zealand company, operates the Adelaide Casino in Australia. Casinos Austria operates the Reef casino in Cairns, Australia. Cambodian leading IR company NagaCorp is building an IR in Vladivostok, Russia – albeit currently stalled due to the Ukraine situation.
The list goes on and on. Inter-jurisdictional ownership and operations are now firmly part of our industry. It’s with this in mind that I read, with some perplexity, article 22C of the new Macau gaming law, which relates to the issue of Macau concessionaires or their controlling shareholders operating casino gaming in other jurisdictions.
