Sixty-day survey
The Macau government has hinted it might reconsider a ban on casino smoking lounges depending on input from the public. The city’s legislative assembly is conducting a 60-day public survey on a planned revision of the tobacco control law.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam told reporters the government will keep an “open mind” on the proposed ban, which casino operators fear could deepen an historic 14-month decline in the city’s gaming industry.
“If the result really shows that the general public and the gaming practitioners all agree on setting up smoking rooms within casinos, and that the technical conditions can also ensure that secondhand smoke doesn’t leak out, the MSAR government will invite the sector to give suggestions and discuss the standards for smoking room setups,” he said. “Right now, it’s still too early to say; we still need to see the public consultation result.”
Investment analysts have warned that removing mass-floor smoking lounges could subtract 10 percent from mass-market gaming revenue and up to 15 percent from VIP revenue.
Though forecasts say the 14-month decline in Macau’s gaming industry will continue, the market can expect “less bad” year-on-year results, according to Union Gaming. In July, gaming revenues were down 34.5 percent to 18.6 billion patacas (US$2.3 billion); those tough numbers are almost welcome after the 48.6 percent plunge in February.
Union Gaming analysts Christopher Jones and John DeCree note that daily revenue stayed within a 6 percent range throughout the month, according to Forbes magazine. “Stability is important,” they wrote, “as it is often one of the first stages of recovery.”
