Macau Government Official Acknowledges Casino Diversification Efforts Aren’t Working

Posted on: April 23, 2025, 11:34h. 

Last updated on: April 23, 2025, 11:57h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Macau says nongaming initiatives haven’t materialized
  • The Chinese city’s casinos continue to invest in nongaming amenities and attractions
  • Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic

A top official in the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government said publicly this week that the diversification mandates the enclave directed to the six casino operators in 2022 have largely been a bust.

Macau diversification casino nongaming
Tai Kin Ip, the secretary for Macau Economy and Finance, attends a plenary meeting of the Legislative Assembly on April 23, 2025. Tai said this week that efforts to diversify Macau through casinos developing nongaming amenities and attractions have so far been fruitless. (Image: Macau SAR Government)

In 2022, in exchange for new 10-year gaming concessions, Sands, Galaxy, Wynn, MGM, Melco, and SJM agreed to invest more than $16 billion in nongaming projects. The terms were presented by the Macau SAR Government, which adhered to Beijing’s request that the Pearl River Delta city lessen its dependency on casino gambling.

Speaking this week before the Legislative Assembly, Macau Economy and Finance Secretary Tai Kin Ip admitted that the nongaming investments haven’t paid off as the government hoped.

The development of Macau’s diversified industries has not met expectations. The government will set up an interdepartmental team led by the Secretary for Economy and Finance to monitor the gaming concessionaires in fulfilling their contractual commitments,” Tai declared.

Earlier this month, Casino.org reported on speculation among some Macau lawmakers that the six casino companies were not fulfilling their nongaming commitments in a timely manner. 

Economic Worries

Macau’s gaming industry remains suppressed compared to prepandemic levels after the city forced most junket groups out of town. That also came at the direction of Xi Jinping, who said the billions of dollars of annual outflow from the mainland through the casino tax haven presented national security concerns.

With fewer high rollers in town and President Donald Trump engaged in a tariff war with the People’s Republic, the economic outlook for Macau is grim.

This week, the International Monetary Fund slashed its 2025 GDP growth forecast for Macau from 7.3% to 3.6%. The IMF predicts 2026 GDP growth will further slow to 3.5%.

Gaming analysts focused on the Asian casino hub also reported this week that casino hotel room bookings for the all-important Chinese New Year saw the average nightly rate tumble 14% compared with 2024. The nightly rate for a five-star hotel room in Macau dropped for a ninth consecutive month in March to just $181.

And today, Seaport Research Partners said a “weaker than expected” start in 2025 has reduced its full-year gross gaming revenue (GGR) outlook from 6.5% to 3%.

2024 GGR totaled $28.3 billion, or 77.5% of 2019 levels.

Macau Diversification 

Macau, led by Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai since December, is committed to growing leisure travel and nongaming business. The casino investment mandates were supposed to play a critical role in that mission, though almost three years into the new licenses, the plan has failed to materialize.

The Macau Government Tourism Office said more than 34.9 million people visited Macau last year, inclusive of day trips. That remained 11% lower, or a decrease of over 4.47 million people, from 2019.

In the first quarter of 2025, total visitation was 9,862,665. While that’s an 11% year-over-year improvement, Macau officials say overnight visitor volume dropped 1.1%, meaning the visitation return is being fueled by day visitors and workers who live outside the SAR border gates.