Major changes are on the horizon in Macau as the country is set to overhaul its gambling framework.
The changes come as part of a wider evaluation of the country’s advertising regulations, off the back of the decision from Yau Yun Wah, Director of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau.
At the heart of the need for change is to bring Macau’s advertising framework in line with a new digital age, given the framework was previously established in 1989.
Furthermore, the new framework is set to stop marketing that has a call to action for the gambling sector and material that encourages consumers to engage with gambling activity.
Speaking at a Press Conference, Director of Macau’s Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) stated: “It is proposed to clarify that participants in online promotional activities and live marketing—such as advertisers, advertising agencies, platform owners, and presenters—are subject to the Advertising Activity Law and must comply with its provisions when their actions constitute advertising.”
New regulation is also set to take aim at influencer marketing across the gambling sector, implementing a duty of cooperation between the two parties to ensure that any product has been legitimately played and authorised by influencer partners.
Pressure tightening following US trade war
It comes amidst challenging times for operators in Macau as pressure is intensified by the ongoing trade war between the US and China, spearheaded by Donald Trump’s second presidency.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein, recently detailed that the eyes of the world are very much fixed on the trade volatility and its impact on the economy.
Speaking at Bernstein’s 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, he underpinned the elevation of challenges that have come for the firm in Asia as a result of the trade war since Trump took office.
A wide spectrum of issues have come to the fore, according to Goldstein, culminating in a far more challenging climate for the firm to operate.
He emphasised that the world is in “an awkward place” as things stand, adding that there is a significant level of uncertainty around the relationship between China and the US – fuelled by tariffs and the trajectory of China.
Nonetheless, he underpinned that there is long term optimism and faith in the Chinese market even amidst current struggles.
At the heart of this optimism is the firm being rewarded for its investments and continued increase of its visibility in Macau, which remains an immediate focus for the operator.
He stated: “We are the biggest investor in Macau and we’ve not been rewarded with the returns we’d like to see. I’d like to see us do a lot better.
“We just have to wait for a better day in Macau, and also help ourselves by performing better, by operating better. I’m going over to Macau in about 10 days, and the whole week is about how we increase our visibility, our positioning, our incentives to drive more EBITDA into our buildings in Macau, because we’ve been outperformed by other people.
“We’ve not done as well as we could have done competitively and our last quarter was disappointing, so we’re hoping for improvement in our operating philosophy and approach to accelerate our own EBITDA within the confines of today’s Macau market.”
