Free foods

jul24

Ricky Hoi Io Meng, deputy director of Macao Government Tourism Office, hinted in Thursday comments that changes to local casinos’ provision of free snacks and drinks on gaming floors “should not have a big impact to the visitors”.

GGRAsia had previously approached the city’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, for comment on the claims of government pushback against the practice of casino operators distributing free food and drinks to patrons – as mentioned on social media several weeks ago – but had not received a reply. The free food and drink trend appeared anecdotally to have been on the rise this year.

“I don’t have any comment on these kinds of new methods,” said Mr Hoi (pictured in a file photo), in comments to the television news service of local public broadcaster TDM.

https://www.ggrasia.com/no-sign-casino-snack-topic-hits-tourism-says-macau-official/

jun24

A move by Macau’s concessionaires to limit the provision of free snacks to visitors may impact footfall but is unlikely to have any material affect on gaming revenues, according to investment bank Morgan Stanley.

In a note published last week after Macau’s gaming regulator, the DICJ, urged operators to stop giving away free snacks due to the impact the practice was allegedly having on local SMEs (small and medium enterprises), analysts Praveen Choudhary and Gareth Leung noted that snacks would no longer be given away to non-gamblers and non-members although free drinks were still available to players holding a membership card with at least one point on it.

Inside Asian Gaming reported last week on the government’s crackdown, which Choudhary and Leung said was also likely behind a decline in Macau gaming stocks of between 3% and 7% that day.

https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2024/06/18/morgan-stanley-end-of-free-snacks-to-non-gamblers-will-hurt-macau-footfall-but-not-ggr/

 Jun24

The days of free food at the Macao’s casinos may be numbered. Casino industry website Inside Asia Gaming has reported “multiple sources” claiming that the government has requested concessionaires stop offering the perk to guests.

Concerns that the practice negatively impacts smaller local businesses by facilitating “zero-dollar tourism” are reportedly behind the move, which has yet to be confirmed by officials.

President of the Macau Association for Responsible Gaming Billy Song told the outlet that he had heard rumours complimentary food would be phased out of Macao’s casinos – and said he believed it would eventually happen.

[See more: How to eat, drink and entertain yourself for free at Macao’s casinos]

Song said that while offering freebies – including Häagen-Dazs ice cream, milk tea and egg tarts – was a way to attract visitors and incentivise players to continue gambling, it could also be viewed as a breach of the concessionaires’ social responsibility. 

Many people who visit Macao for its casinos reportedly make use of the freebies rather than venturing out to eat or spend their money in local stores, depriving local businesses of potential revenue.

According to Inside Asia Gaming, increasing numbers of mainland Chinese visit the city without spending a single pataca on anything besides gambling – given they can travel to casinos for free from the border, fill up on complimentary food, then return to the border via the same shuttle bus service.

https://macaonews.org/food-drink/no-more-free-food-casinos-macau/