Studio City, a Macau resort operated by Melco Resorts, has become only the second casino resort to be authorized to provide smoking lounges in the city. The other casino property is Ponte 16, which received its approval this past April.

The city’s Health Bureau revealed this past Tuesday that it was approving the Melco request. All casinos that want to continue to offer on-site smoking must apply with the bureau. The smoking lounges have stricter requirements than before, and must be equipped with air extraction devices that are more effective than what is currently permitted under current regulations. After January 1 next year, only those casinos who have received authorization will be allowed to offer smoking lounges.

According to several investment analysts, casino markets where on-site smoking has been 100% prohibited have seen a reduction in gross gaming revenue (GGR). However, the analysts emphasized that the reduction was only a temporary one, and that the GGR quickly began to climb after a brief lull.

Out of the 47 casinos and slot parlors in Macau, 13 have already applied for authorization to operate the updated smoking lounges, according to a report by the Health Bureau this week. Earlier in August, only 11 had applied. The 13 venues were not identified by name, but the bureau indicated that they had filed a total of 107 requests – 39 more than what had been submitted until the end of last month.