Report: License renewals for U.S. giants not in the bag
Success Universe Group Ltd., formerly Macau Success Limited, has expressed interest in acquiring its own gaming license of its own, according to Executive Director Hoffman Ma Ho Man. “If there’s an open bid for the gaming license, for sure we’ll be interested,” said Ma, who is also deputy chairman of the company.
Casino Ponte 16 is one of SJM’s 14 satellite casinos, reports the Macau Business Daily.
In an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Ma said many local junket operators and satellite casino operators may seek their own gaming licenses if the Macau government opens up a bid process.
Macau’s six gaming concessions and sub-concessions will expire in 2020 and 2022. Starting this year, the government will conduct a mid-term review to decide which companies will have their licenses renewed. In a January report, Hong Kong-based Steve Vickers and Associates said the government may consider licensing a local operator.
“The concessionaires expect easy renewals,” wrote SVA, “but the visibility of U.S. companies such as Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts and nationalist feelings in China could tempt the government to endorse a local competitor.”
Ma said the Macau market can “accommodate one or two more gaming license-holders” in the face of the new wave of new casino-resort openings over the course of the next two years.
