While Macau has been THE success story in the casino industry over the last decade there are signs that the wheels may be loosening a little on the runaway winner of the sector. It has been revealed that Chinese officials have made subtle changes to the visa conditions for visitors from Guangdong to the Macau region. These changes may not have received universal publicity but they may put the gaming industry back many years!
Currently the visa conditions between Guangdong and Macau allow people to visit the region once every two months but this has now been changed to once every three months. It seems that concerns about the popularity of gambling and the outflow of funds from the mainland were behind the change. Many people may not be aware but Guangdong is the main feeder for visitors to Macau and the change will affectively cut regular visitors from the region by one third.
This move is sure to annoy US casino groups which have invested substantial funds into the region over the last couple of years. It will quite literally be back to drawing board to see how they can balance the books and make the figures work.
While Macau has been THE success story in the casino industry over the last decade there are signs that the wheels may be loosening a little on the runaway winner of the sector. It has been revealed that Chinese officials have made subtle changes to the visa conditions for visitors from Guangdong to the Macau region. These changes may not have received universal publicity but they may put the gaming industry back many years!