Macau legislators appear to be holding out the possibility of a reduction in the city’s hefty 39 per cent gaming tax if the operators can prove that they have managed to bring in players from outside of mainland China.
Chan Chak Mo, the chairman of a legislative committee evaluating amendments to Macau’s gaming law, told local media that the city has to diversify its tourism base due to China’s ongoing crackdown on cross-border gambling.
“Before almost 80 per cent of gamblers and tourists came from mainland China, 10 per cent from Hong Kong and five per cent from Taiwan. But we also used to have more tourists from Thailand, South Korea and Japan,” he was cited as saying by Macau Business.
“Considering the changes in the Chinese gaming criminal law, maybe we need to explore other markets - that’s why the government changed this article, to try and attract more foreign clients,” Chan added.
Source: Asia Gaming Brief
