Macau’s Casino Industry Booming as Tourists Return Post-COVID

Macau’s potential new leader, Sam Hou Fai, addresses the risks of an overreliance on the casino industry. (Image: Cheong Kam Ka/Xinhua)

The summer season in China has seen the casino industry reaping the benefits as people head to the city of Macau for their entertainment. 

The city’s gaming revenue rose 14.8% in August as demand for entertainment soared. As expected, the rise in visitor numbers to the world’s largest casino hub increased significantly following the end of the global pandemic. It is estimated that there were over 3 million visitors to the Macau casino hub in July alone.  

Latest figures released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau suggest that gross gaming revenue reached 19.8 billion patacas ($3.22 billion).  

As with many countries across the globe, there are strict regulations in the pipeline for casinos and gambling outlets and crackdowns on crime. Macau is no different as Beijing seeks to curb capital outflows and money laundering. 

There are plans to introduce five-year prison sentences for who exchanges or lends money to gamblers without authorisation. 

The plan follows a series of Chinese government meetings and state media coverage in recent months, highlighting major arrests involving illegal money exchanging activities and cross-border gambling.  

Macau may have a new leader, as Sam Hou Fai, a former judge, has been tipped to take over as the city’s new leader in October. He has already expressed his views on the economic dominance of the territory’s casino industry, where he warned of the “wild” expansion of the gaming sector. 

Speaking at a press conference, Sam Hou Fai said: “For a period of time, the tourism and gaming industry developed in a disorderly manner and expanded wildly. Having one dominant industry is not beneficial for Macau’s long-term development and has had a very negative impact.” 

The prospective city leader said that the expansion of casinos has strained the resources of society, such as workforce and even narrowed the career choices of young people. He called for diversification away from the casino industry.