The government of Macau may shelve a proposed zero-tolerance smoking policy that would have prohibited all tobacco use inside the city’s casinos.
The announcement from the Macau Health Bureau followed the release of a new study from the University of Macau that indicates more than half of casino workers support keeping smoking lounges on casino main floors. The study was commissioned by the city’s six casino operators.
At present, smoking on casino main floors in Macau is allowed only in enclosed smoking lounges like those found in airports. Gamblers in high-roller rooms are allowed to smoke freely, but the new plan would ban smoking at VIP tables—a marked change from former programs that catered to the highest-spending players. VIP smoking lounges will require permission to operate just like smoking lounges on main floors.
The new proposal also calls for improved air quality within smoking rooms, said Health Bureau Deputy Director Cheang Seng Ip. The compromise could prevent gaming revenues from the kind of precipitous fall that followed smoking bans in other jurisdictions, according to GGRAsia.
At a February 15 press conference, Cheang told reporters that casinos could open an unlimited number of smoking rooms under the new plan. He defended them, saying, “A majority of casino workers supports the retention of smoking lounges. We cannot ignore this fact.”
But Cloee Chao, director of local labor group New Macau Gaming Professionals Association, told GGRAsia the organization is not convinced the survey accurately reflects the sentiments of casino workers. A similar poll conducted during the city’s epic downturn showed that even then, with revenues and business down sharply, casino employees were pushing for a full ban on tobacco use.
The study was led by Dr. Desmond Lam, associate professor in hospitality and gaming management at the University of Macau. His research included interviews with more than 14,300 employees of the six resort operators. Forty percent of those polled wanted a full smoking ban in all parts of integrated resorts, 60 percent wanted smoking lounges (47 percent) or both smoking lounges and VIP smoking areas (13 percent). The third option was described by Lam as “the status quo.”
“For the gaming staff, 45 percent said they would prefer a full smoking ban, whereas 55 percent preferred one of the two other options, with 44 percent saying they wanted only smoking lounges,” said Lam.
According to the Macau Daily Times, almost 90 percent of employees who work in gaming areas reported an improvement in air quality at work following anti-smoking measures undertaken by operators in recent years.
A joint statement from the six concessionaires affirmed their commitment to the government’s tobacco control bill, saying “the health and well-being of their employees and customers are of paramount importance.”
But Chao said compromise is not the way to go. “We still think that a full smoking ban should be in place,” she told GGRAsia. “We are going to conduct a survey again with regard to the gaming workers’ opinions on the retention of smoking lounges and hopefully we can deliver the results to the Legislative Assembly.”
Lawmaker Ella Lei Cheng I is also doubtful about the poll results, and said the new statement issued by the Health Bureau “conflicted” with its earlier conclusion that smoking lounges cannot fully contain secondhand smoke.
But Choi Kam Fu, director general of the Macau Gaming Enterprise Staff’s Association, said his organization welcomes the use of smoking lounges “if the so-called high standards for these installations can really help create a smoke-free work environment, and such standards are recognized by international authorities. Employees need to be shown how these specifications work, and whether they can really block off harmful tobacco smoke.”
Stephen Lao Ka Weng, president of local casino worker group Power of the Macao Gaming Association, said that group also is open to the idea of smoking lounges as the local economy stabilizes. “It’s true that the casino gross gaming revenue here has shown some recovery, but the worker members’ concerns are that a full smoking ban can impact the casinos’ earnings, and in turn affect their employment.”
Angela Leong On Kei, legislator and executive director of casino operator SJM Holdings also weighed in, saying, “I think the idea of smoking lounges and a full smoking ban is compatible. It’s a scenario that when you walk into a casino, no one smoke on the floors, and especially at the gaming tables. Most importantly, our workers will not suffer from any harm of secondhand smoke.”
The South China Morning Post reports that Macau’s beleaguered gaming industry, now emerging from a recession that lasted from June 2014 to August 2016, will see single-digit growth this year. According to Fitch Ratings, hopes for a robust recovery have been tempered by Mainland Chinese policies including stricter capital control, the ongoing corruption crackdown and a “potential large one-off yuan depreciation.”
Recent growth “coincided with the opening of the Parisian and Wynn Palace in the third quarter of 2016, as well as relatively solid China economic indicators,” Fitch analysts said. “We expect the returns on investment of the new resorts to improve as the market pivots toward the mass-market segment and infrastructure projects come online.”
According to Fitch’s estimate, China’s economy will grow 6.4 per cent in 2017, only slightly lower than the 6.7 per cent in 2016. “Our positive long-term outlook for Macau is supported by the growing Chinese middle class, expanding Chinese economy, albeit at a slower rate, and our belief that the region remains underpenetrated,” Fitch analysts said.
Meanwhile, SJM CEO Ambrose So Shu Fai said last week that the government should give the industry a grace period of one year to 18 months to upgrade existing smoking lounges. Cheang said that sounded like “too much” time.
