The licences held by Wynn Macau, Sands China, MGM China, SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment and Melco Resorts, were all due to expire on June 26 of this year.

Speaking after a Legislative Assembly (AL) standing committee meeting on the future gaming law amendment, Secretary Lei indicated that authorities have already requested operators to submit some documents for extension application.

Asked whether the new round of tender will take place in the second half of this year and whether there are chances that the existing licenses might be extended again beyond 31 Dec 2022, Lei only said the government would promptly start the relevant work after the AL has passed the revised law.

The draft of the much-expected gaming law bill was approved by the AL in January of this year and sent to the second standing committee level for evaluation.

Among many changes, the draft bill sets a maximum of six gaming concessions that can operate for up to ten years, with a 3-year extension possible under exceptional circumstances. The amendment proposal also includes a number of new regulations for both casino operators and gaming promoters.

Although previously authorities repeatedly expressed their intent in getting the legislation finished and approved at the AL, committee members have raised several doubts concerning the future satellite casinos, the concessionaire’s managing Director status and new national security provisions in the draft bill.

In 2019 the Macau government says approved a request to extend the gaming concessions of SJM Holdings and MGM China for two more years in order to align the terms of these two gaming concessions with the other four operators in the Macau market on June 26, 2022.

Secretary Lei also did not directly comment whether it is still feasible for the city to achieve the goal of MOP130 billion in gross gaming revenue this year, only saying “we hope the pandemic situation in the nearby region [Hong Kong] could be under control as soon as possible.”

“We’re currently facing more complex uncertainties than in the past,” he said. “We have employed a cautious approach for the dynamic management of public finance so that we have enough resources to support future development and in face of any changes in the pandemic situation.”

The Macau SAR government is estimating that 2022 will end with MOP130 billion in gross gaming revenues and MOP45.5 billion in gaming taxes collected.

The Macau SAR collected a total of MOP33.9 billion (US$4.2 billion) in gaming taxes in 2021, some 13 per cent more than in the previous year and 68 per cent of the estimated goal for the year.

Local authorities had also predicted the year would end with a total of MOP130 billion in gross gaming revenue, however, after outbreaks in the SAR and the mainland continued to impact visitor numbers, combined with the continuing shrinking of the VIP market pool, total results reached MOP86.8 billion by 2021 end, some 60 per cent of what was expected.