Macau in the News — Weekly Round-up for October 27, 2017

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Oct 27, 2017

Macau Reaps Tax Riches From Gambling Sector

Island government harvests $8.5 billion in first nine months of 2017

The Macau gambling sector’s contribution to government tax coffers for the first nine months of 2017 rose 17.5 percent year-on-year to MOP 68.64 billion (US$8.54 billion) according to figures released this week by the island’s Financial Services Bureau.

Casino GGR over the three quarters to end September grew almost 19 percent to MOP 193.38 billion (US$24.06 billion) and constituted almost 81 percent of total government tax revenue at a tax rate of 35 percent on GGR.

Cockney Flavour For New Macau Casino Plans

Las Vegas Sands to add London-themed facility to its Parisian and Venetian stable of properties

Sheldon Adelson‘s Las Vegas Sands group has announced that it is planning a $1.1 billion new project spend for Macau, including the construction of a London-themed attraction to complement the company’s existing Paris and Venice-themed properties.

The company will be rebranding Sands Cotai Central as The Londoner Macao by 2020, LVS revealed. Sands Cotai has been underperforming, according to Macau analysts, and lacks both character and pulling power in a gambling precinct that features many newer and spectacularly-themed venues.

Sands said the “Londoner” will feature attractions based on the British capital’s most recognisable landmarks, an expanded retail mall and 350 new suites.

A Reuters report notes that Sands already operates five major properties on the gambling island just off the Chinese mainland.

The unveiling of the London project occurred during the release of LVS’ Q3-2017 results, which included quarterly net revenue of US$ 3.2 billion.

Adelson claimed that his company has invested more than $13 billion in Macau since 2002, adding that he still saw great potential in the Macau market.

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