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Chan in support to CE powers to revoke gaming licenses

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Macau legislator Chan Chak Mo has supported the proposal that grants the Macau chief executive discretionary powers to revoke gaming concessions should they breach national security, administrative sanctions, or other contractual obligations. 

“In my opinion, this is a special law. The gaming sector is extremely important to Macau, considering the number of job positions. Taking into account the changes in the worldwide situation and the concerns surrounding national security I think it is proper to give more powers to the CE,” said the legislative, quoted by Macau Business. 

A new item in Article 1 of the bill stipulates that casinos must operate whilst maintain the security of the nation and the SAR, and that any decision by the CE to revoke a gambling license will be able to proceed without going through the judicial procedures. 

“Before it was impossible to cover this. If the concessionaire partners with foreign powers, authorities will be able to act. The concessionaire will still be able to appeal the decision to the courts,” said Chan. 

In the case when a gaming concession is revoked, Chan said all gaming areas under the concession would revert to the Macau government, including non-completed projects. 

In related news, the legislator said the government is considering making a change to the proposal that would force a gaming concession holder to dissolve in the event they fail to get their gaming license renewed. 

“After 20 years since the first concession public tender, all concessionaires engage in many different businesses so the operator should be able to continue its non-gaming operations. The government will decide if they can change their status,” Chan added.

Chan said the historical rules stipulate that a concession can only be granted to a company whose exclusive objective is to engage in the gambling business.  

He said that the government is now considering making changes to Article 50 which would allow a gaming company to change their business scope and for non-gaming business to continue without needing to transfer it to another entity.

Felix Ng
Felix Nghttps://agbrief.com/about-asia-gaming-brief/
Felix is the Asia Editor and Events Director of the Asia Gaming Brief. He has over a decade of experience developing conferences for industries including gaming, telecoms, investment, biotechnology, and mining. Felix covers gaming technology and innovation and is passionate about developing engaging and eye-catching content for the industry.

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