BACK TO THE FUTURE: CONSTRUCTING MACAO AS A WORLD-CLASS CASINO TOURISM DESTINATION UNDER NEW GAMING LAWS

Abstract

The relationship between legal contents/practices and the development of casino tourism in Macao (or Macau) is deconstructed through an institutional analysis. Specifically, the role and impacts of the Macanese legal system in the advancement of casino tourism, evolution of the industrial organization and business routines in its modern history, and the dramatic expansion of the industry in the first two decades of the twenty-first century, are elucidated. It is found that a lagging legal and regulatory environment actually constitutes as an essential but controversial basis for a series of unorthodox business activities, which is exacerbated by a group of particular gaming agents. Nevertheless, their business practices have clearly diverted Macao from the public vision of the city as a world-class casino tourism destination. Thus, the MSAR government has made profound revisions and promulgated a new version of gaming laws in 2022 for the retendering of new gaming concessions. An investigation into the contents of these new laws and the related documents shows that while the long-established business practices of this industry which have been dominated by gaming agents will come to an end, new business routines will be subsequently instituted for sustained growth. To conclude, positive actions taken by the industry to comply with the new gaming laws and effective enforcement of these laws by the government will revert casino tourism in Macao back to a sustainable trajectory of development.