Dedicated foreigner-only gaming zones were launched in Macau’s casinos in early 2023 following a directive from the SAR Government, but their effectiveness has been questioned with industry representatives describing them as a “failure”. They have also noted that chip tracking technology appears to be sufficient for keeping track of foreign play, echoing comments made by MGM Resorts CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle late last week.
The concept of foreigner-only gaming zones were first proposed by the Macau government at the end of 2022, with the initial goal of encouraging concessionaires to put more effort into attracting foreign tourists to the city. As an incentive, the government said at the time it could reduce taxes on gross gaming revenues by up to 5% for revenue generated from foreigners.
However, the effectiveness of the zones was questioned by Hornbuckle during a JP Morgan investor event last Friday, with the MGM CEO stating that a recent move by other Macau casino operators to implement RFID technology to better track play on their gaming floors was at least in part due to the failure of foreigner-only gambling zones to gain traction with players.
“The customers didn’t like it, but the one thing [MGM’s] ‘chip in chip’ technology enabled us to do, and we got a huge head-start on this, was let people go anywhere they want in the casino because we can track their every move and their every play,” he said.
Macau junket operator U Io Hung told Inside Asian Gaming that “no gambler likes to be trapped in one place.
“The casino now keeps a record of every chip and table, and everyone’s bets can be tracked, making the establishment of a dedicated area superfluous,” he added.
“There are foreign gamblers now, but they are fewer than Chinese gamblers, and the number of people who go to the foreigner-only zones is even smaller.”
Speaking at a press conference in November, Macau’s Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, was asked about the progress of the zones but replied that the government would not release data on foreigner play.
“The concessionaires have submitted the data to the government, but the data involves commercial practices, so the government will not release it,” he said.
Lam U Tou, a member of the Legislative Assembly who voted against the new gaming law, has questioned the decision not to make such data public.
“It is unreasonable not to publish the data, and if this data is not published, how can the community implement the monitoring of the government’s tax enforcement?” he asked.
“Macau’s GGR is published monthly, and detailed data is published quarterly, but this is not public.”
As for the foreigner-only zones themselves, Lam said, “The gaming industry has reflected that not many foreign gamblers actually enter this gaming area.
“There are Chinese people with foreign passports who come to the gaming area, but very few foreign tourists actually come to the gaming area.”
He added, “The government has proposed this formula, now it needs to account for the results, no matter whether the results are good or bad. It is necessary to disclose the data.”
According to figures released by the Statistics and Census Service, Macau welcomed 28,213,003 visitor arrivals in 2023, although only 1,459,566 were foreign visitors – representing just 5.17% of the total.
“I have always supported the government to attract foreign visitors – not by using this 5% tax but by improving the overall infrastructure support and tourism industry to attract foreign visitors,” Lam said.
