Retendering21-22

 ou25 Macau’s Judiciary Police recently cracked a fraud case involving gaming concessionaires, where four suspects utilized falsified bank account details to defraud two concessionaires of over HK$17.4 million (US$2.3 million) in “non-negotiable chips”. According to case details released by the Judiciary Police, the four arrested individuals comprise three Hong Kong residents (two males and one female) and one local Macau male. The suspects allegedly applied for gambling loans from four concessionaires in early October 2025, using forged electronic bank account balance documents – including a counterfeit HK$48 million balance statement from a Hong Kong bank -for gambling purposes. Two of the concessionaires declined to grant the loans, while the other two approved them. After obtaining the loans, the suspects withdrew the “non-negotiable chips” in multiple instalments and removed them from the casinos. One concessionaire reported the incident after detecting irregularities, claimin...

 out25 Income generated from inward direct investment by outside investors in Macau’s gaming sector rose by 53.2 percent year-on-year in 2024, standing at MOP30.83 billion (US$3.86 billion), according to data released on Friday by the city’s Statistics and Census Service. Macao’s gaming sector continued to record a net outflow of inward direct investment in 2024, amounting to MOP476 million, but the outflow “narrowed” compared with the previous year, the city’s Statistics and Census Service said. “This was mainly attributable to a decrease in loan repayments by some gaming enterprises to foreign shareholders or overseas affiliates,” it added. As of the end of 2024, the stock of inward direct investment in Macau’s gaming sector totalled MOP142.35 billion, slightly down by less than 0.1 percent year-on-year, the official data showed. The gaming sector remained by far the largest contributor to the city’s total stock of inward dir...

nov25 OUTDOOR VENUE Macau authorities have promised a review of performance arrangements after a Hong Kong performer dropped out at the last minute of a music festival held at the outdoor venue in Cotai. Talking to the media on Tuesday about canto-pop singer Tyson Yoshi’s decision to cancel his appearance, Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Leong Wai Man pledged to carry out follow-up work. “The outdoor performance area is a new experiment, with each event bringing different types of shows,” the official said. “Any problems that arose are seen as chances for us to review and improve. In the future, organisers will be reminded to pay attention to stage setup and coordination so that they will be able to build experience and make future events better.” The independent singer, whose real name is Ben Cheng Tsun Yin, was supposed to perform at the Waterbomb Macao 2025 event. However, he decided to withdraw from his scheduled performance over personal safety concerns. Despite having already ma...

 out25 Despite its reputation for slot machines and poker tables, Las Vegas’s gaming activities will account for only 26 percent of tourism revenue this year, commented gaming industry expert Niall Murray, speaking at Thursday evening’s  BritCham  event held at the Artyzen Grand Lapa. For Macao, expanding its non-gaming portfolio and rebalancing its economy to match Sin City would be a pipe dream, explained the founder and chairman of Murray International Group, lamenting that “at best we’re about three years behind our regional peers” when compared to neighbouring Hong Kong’s world-class infrastructure or Singapore’s aggressive airport capacity. [ See more :   Gambling on health: Studio City opens its own hospital ] While there is an ongoing push to diversify Macao’s economy beyond the gaming sector, progress has been slow. Collaboration among key stakeholders remains limited, since few concessionaires are willing to sit down with competitors and openly share non-ga...

 https://asgam.com/2025/09/30/downward-spiral/

 out25 Macau police warn of challenges from cross-border crime and new criminal tactics By   Nelson Moura Macau police warn of new crime threats as 35 investigators appointed Macau’s police warned Friday of mounting challenges to the city’s stability as 35 new chief criminal investigators were sworn in, citing the growing complexity of cross-border crime and the fast evolution of criminal tactics. Judiciary Police director Sit Chong Meng said the city “remains generally stable” but stressed that officers must adapt quickly to safeguard public security. “We face new challenges that could disrupt this balance,” Sit told the appointment ceremony. “The task of safeguarding national security and ensuring social stability is more crucial than ever.” The new investigators have undergone extensive training and are expected to strengthen the force’s ability to respond to emerging threats, officials said. Authorities have pledged to step up policing strategies to preserve social order a...

 out25 Macau’s pawnshop industry, once a thriving pillar of the city’s casino economy, has seen its fortunes plummet from over 200 establishments at its 2014 peak to just 56 today. A fourth-generation pawnbroker charts the sector’s dramatic rise and fall — and warns of further decline ahead. By Jing Wu (text) and Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro (photos), Lusa Alexander Wai Kai Leong, 39, the fourth-generation owner of Veng Seng Pawnshop, is a man whose story is told in gold and jade — and his first impression is striking, thanks to the jewellery he wears. A gleaming gold watch and a gold ring set with a vivid green jade stone immediately draw the eye to his left hand. His right hand is equally adorned: a golden dragon ring coils around his index finger, and a large ruby sparkles on his ring finger. A string of wooden prayer beads wraps his right wrist, completing the ensemble. Leong’s family legacy began in 1940, when they owned eight pawnshops in Hong Kong. At the time, during the Second Si...

 out25 Asia’s foreigner-only casinos, specifically those located in South Korea and Vietnam, were born with a natural disadvantage – one that was only exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. But recent performance suggests these industry outliers are fighting back, carving out a niche position that has many producing record results.  IAG  takes a closer look. https://asgam.com/2025/09/30/fighting-back/

 out25 Macau is projected to welcome as many as 46.43 million visitors annually by 2030, underpinned by a surge of nearly 30 percent in non-gaming expenditure, according to a government-commissioned study. The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) on Tuesday released the second-phase review of the Macau Tourism Industry Development Master Plan, a long-term blueprint first introduced in 2017 to guide the city’s tourism evolution over 15 years. Following the first-phase review in 2021, the latest report, conducted by Deloitte Advisory Services, estimated that Macau will attract between 39.47 million and 46.43 million tourists in 2030, marking a 13 percent to 32.9 percent increase from 34.93 million visitors in 2024. In the first eight months of 2025 alone, Macau recorded 26.9 million arrivals, a 15 percent year-on-year increase, according to official data. Should this momentum continue, annual visitation could hit a record 40.17 million this year. The second-phase review also antici...