Macau’s Chief Executive, Sam Hou Fai (pictured), says U.S.-owned casino companies operating in the city will not face any retaliatory action, provided they comply with local laws and regulations. The assurance came amid ongoing geopolitical and trade tensions between China and the United States.
“The six gaming operators in Macau, as long as they comply with Macau law and conduct their operations in a lawful and orderly manner, will be protected and supported by the Macau government,” stated Mr Sam.
He emphasised that law-abiding companies – including those that have U.S.-based investors – had no reason to fear punitive action from the local authorities.
Mr Sam made his remarks during a press conference on Tuesday, following a six-day inspection tour of Macau by Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Work Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.
Mr Xia is widely regarded as Beijing’s top official on Macau affairs. Macau is a special administrative region of China.
Mr Sam’s comments came after China and the United States announced on Monday a 90-day truce in the ongoing tariff war. The truce, which comes into effect today (May 14), will see the United States lower its tariffs on imports from China to 30 percent, while Beijing will cut its levies on U.S. goods to 10 percent.
Half of Macau’s six casino operators are controlled by U.S.-based companies. Sands China Ltd is a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corp; MGM China Holdings Ltd is majority-owned by MGM Resorts International; and Wynn Resorts Ltd is the parent company of Wynn Macau Ltd.
Asked about whether these companies could expect to continue operating over the next eight years – i.e., the remaining period of their respective concession contracts – Mr Sam reaffirmed the legal certainty and government backing available to firms who comply with the Macau’s regulations.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Mr Sam also acknowledged the ongoing difficulty in reducing the city’s heavy economic reliance on the gaming sector. “In the coming years, it will be very difficult to reverse” this situation, he admitted, although he reiterated that economic diversification away from gaming remained a stated goal for Macau.
The Macau government collected just above MOP22.20 billion (US$2.78 billion) in fiscal revenue from gaming in the first three months of 2025, according to data released by the city’s Financial Services Bureau. The latest figures show that taxes from gaming accounted for 88.4 percent of the Macau government’s nearly MOP25.10 billion in current revenue recorded in the three months to March 31.
Under Macau’s 10-year gaming concession system, which came into effect on January 1, 2023, the effective tax on casino gross gaming revenue is 40 percent.
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