This evening (Thursday 23 December), the DICJ published its final report following the public consultation period in relation to the revision of Macau Gaming Law 16/2001. The report had been due by March 2022 ahead of the expiration of all six Macau casino concessions on 26 June 2022.
The release of the report follows the statement by Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, on 13 December that the “consultation report and the bill will advance according to the projected timeline.” The release of the report this evening, just as the government was going on its Christmas holiday break, suggests clear intent by the government to conduct the retendering of licenses by 26 June 2022, making any extension to the current concessions unlikely.
Release of the report follows the annual report of the Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng to Chinese President Xi Jinping, which took place yesterday (Wednesday) in Beijing.
The Chinese version of the report can be downloaded here: https://www.dicj.gov.mo/web/consultation/ebook/report_c.pdf
The Portuguese version of the report can be downloaded here: https://www.dicj.gov.mo/web/consultation/ebook/report_p.pdf
For our series of deep dives analyzing the final report, click here.
