Thailand's 500-member House of Representatives approved a proposal for a study on Thursday, led by a group of lawmakers, to explore the possibility of permitting casinos to operate within extensive entertainment complexes. The plan garnered support from 253 out of the 257 lawmakers present.

Gaming operators in Macau are pulling out all the stops to get customers, with their player reinvestment (PRI) schemes, effectively comping, reaching stunning figures as each vies for market share. Expert Ben Lee notes that the process isn’t new, but that different operators choose different ways to mask their programs.

Hotel operators in Cebu say that they are facing manpower difficulties in the post-pandemic period, despite rises in holiday bookings and increased MICE activity.

Experts are struggling to find quantifiable advantages to the new foreigner-only gaming zones in Macau casinos, noting that none of Macau’s six gaming concessionaires have so far applied for the tax break, reducing the 40 percent charge on their gross gaming revenue (GGR), which could be applicable to gambling by foreigners under the new concession system.

According to Nelson Kot, the president of the Macau Comprehensive Social Research Association, Macau's gaming operators have been discussing actively with licensed junkets, aiming to boost the VIP revenue rebound.

According to Luiz Lam, former director of the Macau Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, there are only 12 to 13 junkets out of 36 in operation, and half of them have shifted from the mainland Chinese source market to Hong Kong.

The labor shortage in Macau has been a frequently discussed topic, as Macau's tourism bureau said in February that up to 3,000 hotel rooms were out of use and the problem likely remains unresolved. An industry insider notes that skilled workers who left Macau during the pandemic "probably will not come back".

President of the Macau Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association, Cheung Kin Chung, calls for the industry to look more to the Greater Bay Area as it seeks more high-spending tourists. Cheung notes that multi-destination packages and leveraging regional hotel room inventory could help drive Macau's success.

Despite Macau’s FY22 gross gaming revenue falling more than half yearly (51.4 percent), Sands China consolidated its leadership of the gaming market during the year, leading in almost all segments, including VIP, where Galaxy lost a lot of ground. On the other hand, SJM Holdings saw some uptick in market share last year.

Macau’s MICE industry foresees a strong rebound in trade fairs, exhibitions, and conferences this year, but rising costs are worrying organizers.