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Synergetic Effect Between Gaming and Non-gaming Elements

Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance

Press Release

11 May 2016

            To promote synergetic development of gaming and non-gaming elements towards betterment, quality and integrity of the gaming industry is both a social consensus and an endeavour of the Macao SAR Government.  As stated in the “Interim Review of Gaming Liberalization for Games of Fortune in Macao: economical, social, livelihood impacts and operating conditions of the Concessionaires” research report, development of the gaming industry has scaled up the added values of its related industries. Non-gaming element has created a large amount of non-gaming job positions. In 2014, non-gaming employees accounted for 44% of the total number of employees in gaming operators. 

            The research report cited data from the six gaming operators, which shown that their non-gaming elements created an income of 23.2 billion MOP in 2014. Currently, total non-gaming spending of tourists in Macao is comparable to that of Las Vegas. However, the percentage is diluted as Macao’s gross gaming revenue is far too high.  

            The report stated that synergetic effect exists between gaming and non-gaming elements. Data has shown that mass gaming revenue accounted for an increasing proportion of the gross gaming revenue in recent years. Driven by the market, non-gaming elements in new investment projects of gaming operators were given an increasing importance with a view to tap into different source markets, such as the middle-class and families.  

            The report analyzed the synergetic effect of the added value of gaming and non-gaming industries. According to the added value calculated using the production approach with current prices in 2003 and 2013 (Production Tax deducted), the added value of the gaming industry increased by (6.9 times), while the hotel industry (11.4 times), wholesale and retail industry (7.4 times), construction industry (5.1 times), banking industry (3.5 times) and catering industry (3 times) all have certain increase. Besides, data has shown that tourists in Macao participating in gaming activities have also contributed to non-gaming spending, such as hotel, catering, retail, entertainment and tourism. On the other hand, tourists attracted by non-gaming elements have in turn driven gaming spending.  

            Impacts of the gaming industry on local economy, business environment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), society and people’s livelihood are an important topic of the research. The report pointed out that Macao is now among the forefront runners of the most developed regions in the world’s economy thanks to gaming tourism. The most significant positive impact includes: rapid GDP growth, increased fiscal reserves, improved social welfare, foreign investment at record high, increased labour productivity, relatively low unemployment rate sustained, creation of favourable conditions to drive the development of other old or new industries, such as hotel, luxury retail, catering, convention and exhibition, performance and entertainment etc. Gaming liberalisation, in the period of 2002 to 2014, saw a net increase of nearly 35,000 companies in Macao, covering a wide array of industries.  

            Rapid development of the gaming industry has nonetheless brought along negative impact. Relatively obvious were the persistently high inflation rate, putting stress on the daily life of the grassroots and the elderly people, acute rise in housing prices made them unaffordable to the majority of the public, some local SMEs faced difficulties due to the hike in operating costs, gaming-related crime increased, economy and employment became too dependent on gaming industry, the challenging of traditional values and so on.  

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