The Macau government is setting up a task force to consider the feasibility of airport-style smoking rooms in casinos, a proposal advanced by the city’s six gaming concessions.
The operators have petitioned for the rooms as a solution to the challenges of complying with air-quality monitoring that went into effect at the start of 2013 as part of a government mandate that at least 50 percent of casino floors be non-smoking.
The rooms will not provide gambling, and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Cheong U said the plan—“if executable and in compliance with the laws, is the development that everyone wants to see.”
Casino workers have repeatedly complained about air quality on gaming floors since the half-and-half arrangement was introduced last January. Some say the new rules have actually concentrated the effects of smoke in the areas designated for it. In October, it was revealed that 16 venues had failed a second round of air quality checks.
The task force will function as a “cross-departmental government team,” Cheong said. “After the analysis we will deliberate with the gaming operators.”
Chan Wai Sin, deputy director of the Health Bureau, said his department is studying whether the venues that failed the second tests will have their smoking areas reduced in accordance with the law. SJM Holdings, which owns 14 of them, has already installed a non-smoking room at its Casino Lisboa, and Executive Director Angela Leong said they may do the same at other properties.
