Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.
There are many great casinos to visit in Macau. The six major casino operators are SJM Holdings, MGM China Holdings, Melco Crown Entertainment, and Wynn Macau. Casinos to visit include The Venetian Macao, MGM Cotai, Studio City, and more.
Macau's economy relies heavily on gambling. Nowadays, the gambling industry generates over 40% of the GDP of Macau. Since the early 1960s, around 50% of Macau's official revenue has been driven by gambling. The percentage remained steady until the late 1990s. In 1998, 44.5% of total government revenue was produced by the direct tax on gambling. Then there was a 9.1% decrease in 1999, probably due to internet gaming. After the handover of Macau from Portugal to China, the SAR released gambling licenses to other companies to eliminate the monopoly played by the STDM. In 2002, the government signed concession contracts with two Macau gaming companies, Wynn Resort Ltd. and Galaxy Casino. This opened the gambling market for competition and increased government tax revenue significantly. It also attracted more tourists to Macau.
"The kind of gamblers that come to Macau are the type of gamblers casinos want," said Hannah Dreier, who covers gambling for the Associated Press. "Macau doesn't have the backdrop of shows and restaurants and other diversions that Las Vegas does. The people that come, come to gamble and be high rollers."
Grand Lisboa Palace - contemorary colour / photo: hotel
Located at the heart of the Macau Peninsula, Casino Kam Pek Paradise has over 200,000 square feet of gaming space offering traditional gaming tables, LMG Machines as well as slot machines to provide affordable and exhilarating gaming experiences to patrons.
However, the gambling industry is also a source of instability in the Macau economy, as the nature of the gambling business is not susceptible to technological advancement or productivity growth. The gambling business is still dependent on the prosperity of other Asian economies, especially that of China. Due to 's promise on cracking down of corruption across mainland China, casino profits from across Macau have been reporting a decline in monthly profits In addition, a proliferation of other gambling venues in the region is drawing the target demographic away. Macau's 2018 grew 13% over the prior year, but this lagged behind the 41% growth in emerging casino markets in Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia, according to Fitch Ratings. In 2019 casino earnings reached their lowest level in three years.
In 2002, the Macau government ended the monopoly system and granted three (later six) casino operating concessions (and subconcessions) to: (SJM, an 80% owned subsidiary of STDM), , , , the partnership of and , and the partnership of and PBL. On 18 May 2004, the casino opened near the . Today, there are 16 casinos operated by the STDM, and they are still crucial in the casino industry in Macau.
Taxes from gambling revenues fund a robust welfare system and an annual cash payment to Macau's citizens.
Grand Lisboa Deluxe/ photo: hotel
Macau has 41 casinos (as of 2019), of which the biggest is . Twenty-four casinos are located on the and 17 in . They all operate under a government franchise and under a common set of rules. The main casino operators in Macau are , and with respective revenues of 9.7, 4.8, and 4.2 billion in 2011.
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Macau Legend Development Ltd, the owner of the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf precinct and operator of satellite casino Legend Palace, has completed the sale of its Laos casino, Savan Legend, as part of a US$45 million deal.
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Macau Legend said at the time that it was selling its Laos casino because its financial performance had been unstable and had been subject to “increasingly onerous restraints in Lao PDR, thereby limiting its profitability in the future.”
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A form of VIP contractual system called the junket trade operates in Macau. Junket agents recruit to Macau and advance the high rollers credit for gambling. The practice developed in the 1980s, when Stanley Ho began subcontracting private gambling rooms in his casinos to independent agents.
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A grab-bag of Macau hotels and casinos - fun guide to swank beds, gaming options, and family stays, with a peek at heritage walks, shopping, and egg tarts.
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The company has stated its intention to focus its energies onto its Macau assets, having in early 2023 with SJM to continue running the casino at Legend Palace on the Macau peninsula.
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Studio City is designed to be the ultimate entertainment hub in Macau. It is much easier to navigate than other casinos on this list. The betting categories are separate, with 768 slot machines on the other and mid-entry gaming tables on the other. The high-roller VIP club is also set apart, with 52 gaming tables and 134 slot machines and online games. In addition to its casino offering, the resort has an outdoor pool with slides, a spa, a gym, gardens, shopping malls, and restaurants. The kids have the Warner Brothers Fun Zone and Dark Knight Flight Simulators to enjoy.
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Las Vegas casinos took notice as well. Las Vegas Sands was the first to enter market, and Wynn Resorts and MGM are among the American-based companies with casino resorts in Macau. According to Dreier, Las Vegas would need to attract six times as many people as it does to equal Macau's gambling industry, and U.S. companies make most of their profits in the tiny Chinese municipality.
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One of the oldest and most famous casinos in Macau is Casino Lisboa. Built in 1970 by the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) group, it originally had just a round twelve story hotel. As demand grew it was extended in 1991 to a 1000 room hotel.