In Macau, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau regulator has reportedly announced that it has received a detailed investment plan from Macau Horse Race Company Limited concerning the city’s Macau Jockey Club.
Condition of monopoly extension:
According to a Thursday report from GGRAsia, February saw Macau Horse Race Company Limited agree to spend approximately $186 million to improve facilities at the Taipa venue as a condition of being granted a 24-year extension to its city-wide monopoly on horse racing.
The government specified that the investment plan must also include specific measures to help increase non-gaming services at Macau Jockey Club, which has been the only venue in the former Portuguese enclave to offer horseracing since 1978.
Deal draws disapproval:
But, GGRAsia reported that the signing of this agreement soon drew criticism after it emerged in March that Macau Horse Race Company Limited owes the government over $18 million in unpaid taxes covering a nine-year period that began in 1997.
Detractors alleged that government officials had known about this shortfall since 2015 while pointing out that billionaire businesswoman, Angela Leong On Kei, serves as Vice-President for Macau Horse Race Company Limited while additionally sitting as a member of the city’s ruling Legislative Council.
Regulator to consider plan:
Paulo Martins Chan, Director for the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, told GGRAsia that the investment plan from Macau Horse Race Company Limited contains a timetable for the completion of the planned work and?is to?be submitted to the appropriate government committee once his office has carried out a detailed assessment.