Macau to Consider Smoking Lounges

Sun, May 10, 2015

Government officials in Macau are “open” to airport-style enclosed smoking lounges on casino floors. No final decision has been made on the lounges, but lawmakers are willing to “listen to every stakeholder,” according to analysts.

Lawmakers in Macau have not completely ruled out enclosed smoking lounges on mass-market gaming floors in the city, according to Daiwa Securities Group analysts Jamie Soo and Adrian Chan.According to Daiwa, government officials are “open to listening to every stakeholder on this issue.”

Casino workers and some members of the public have demanded that smoking be banned in Macau casinos. But casino operators are fearful that a ban would be yet another blow to business, which has seen 11 straight months of decline in the world’s premier gaming market.

Smoking is still permitted in VIP rooms. If a ban on mass-market floors spreads to the high-roller rooms, VIP gaming revenue could fall by as much as 15 percent, said Karen Tang of Deutsche Bank AG in February.

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