There has been some concern over how Macau could handle the casino licensing renewals when the current concession periods begin to expire. Most anticipate there to be automatic extensions given to the operators whose licenses expire first in an effort to gain time while the whole licensing scheme is hashed out by legislators. It looks like Macau lawmakers are being more proactive on the issue and are said to already be reviewing a proposal on how the renewal process should be handled.

Lionel Leong Vai Tac, Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, said over the weekend that a preliminary proposal on gaming law changes has already been introduced. This could go far in the preparation of the bidding process for existing concessions.

Leong indicated, “We’ve said before that the awarding of the gaming concession contracts [when the current ones expire] will have to be done via a bidding process, and the related law needs to be amended as well [in preparation for a new tender]. We are now having an internal study on it [the preliminary proposal].”

He didn’t specify the details of the proposal, but stated that the government will “listen to social opinions and analyse them” throughout the rebid process. There are currently six licenses issued to operators in the gambling hub, and they all expire in either 2020 or in 2022. The first to expire will be those of MGM China and SJM Holdings.