Retendering21-22

 jul26 https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/asia-pacific-gaming-policy-risks-could-widen-credit-quality-gaps-s101697453

  Unlike their Western counterparts, many Asian policymakers place greater emphasis on the perceived social costs of gambling. According to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, roughly 70% adults in Indonesia, India, and South Korea view gambling as immoral, placing these nations among the top five globally. In contrast, only about 30% of adults in the U.S. or Australia hold similar views. This social stigma acts as a political lever. When rapid industry growth triggers public outcry, legislators often respond with high-impact policy U-turns to maintain social order. The Philippines is a case in point. Twenty-fold growth in online gaming between 2022 and 2025 ignited concerns over addiction, prompting sudden restrictions on e-wallet linkages in August 2025. Such shifts can cause severe revenue erosion, as seen with the dominant operator Digiplus Interactive Corp. Political risks also affect project development. For example, shifting political coalitions and public backlash led to the...

 jul26 Macau’s Judiciary Police announced on Thursday the uncovering of an alleged crime operation led by security personnel from a Cotai casino, said to have profited from detecting wrongdoers on the premises and then offering not to report them to the police if those suspects paid up in cash. The security staffers at the Cotai casino – which wasn’t named in a police media briefing as reported by local Chinese-language media outlets – were allegedly helped by a number of “intermediaries”. Since March 2025, the security people – said to include a security manager and some security guards – in collaboration with the go-betweens, purportedly gained at least HKD1.4 million (US$165,716) illicitly, by charging so-called “protection fees” from at least 30 individuals. The latter were identified as people themselves likely to have committed various offences inside the casino in question. The security workers offered to cover up those matters from the city’s authorities, in exchange for th...

 jul26 The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is building its casino market around regulation, tourism integration and controlled access rather than broad gaming expansion, according to Macau-based lawyer Sofia Linhares . Sofia Linhares Speaking to AGB, Linhares said the UAE was taking a different approach from traditional gaming jurisdictions by establishing its regulatory framework before the industry reaches maturity. The country, which historically maintained a strict prohibition on gambling, is now developing a regulated commercial gaming sector under the oversight of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority ( GCGRA ). The launch of Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, expected to become the UAE’s first casino resort, will provide an early test of whether gaming can be integrated into the country’s wider tourism and economic diversification strategy. https://agbrief.com/intel/deep-dive/20/07/2026/uae-aims-to-build-regulated-gaming-market-centred-on-tourism-lawyer/?utm_so...

 jul26 A competição entre as cidades da Grande Baía é cada vez mais evidente; e, por maior que seja o potencial da complementaridade, vista a partir de Pequim, ela será naturalmente construída a partir dos interesses concorrentes em cada uma das nove cidades e duas regiões especiais que compõem uma região económica especial com mais de 80 milhões de consumidores e 14 por cento do PIB da China. Macau tem rapidamente de perceber isso, se não quer ser engolida por uma realidade que a ultrapassa. A rápida expansão de resorts integrados “diluiu o toque local” da cidade, comenta o ex--secretário das Finanças de Hong Kong, John Tsang, numa publicação no Facebook. Tsang, governante que mais tempo ocupou aquele cargo, considera que a escala e a opulência dos novos resorts integrados em Macau rivalizam com os mais relevantes polos de luxo no mundo. Contudo, não lhe dá valor: “Fui a Macau há alguns dias; não ia lá há muitos anos […] Não entendo nada de jogos de azar; e, além disso, não tenho ...

 jul26 D espite accounting for a very small share of local government tax revenue, the tourism tax might have some additional positive aspects that contribute to the decision to keep this form of duty active, economist and associate professor of business economics at the University of Macau’s Faculty of Business Administration, Professor Henry Lei, told the Times. According to information provided by the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) to the Times in response to an inquiry, the recent changes in the number and types of businesses that are subject to the 5% levy are expected to result in a 50% reduction in regular revenue from this tax. “Starting from July 1, 2026, for establishments exempted from tourism tax pursuant to the provisions of Article 4(e) of the tourism tax regulation, as amended by Article 45 of Law No. 5/2026, tax revenue is expected to decrease by approximately MOP750,000,” the DSF said, adding, “The relevant tourism tax amount collected for the fiscal year 2025 is ...