@@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ - +<br>HONG KONG, June 15 (Reuters) - Macau's legislature released a final draft of a highly anticipated gaming bill on Wednesday raising the tax rate and giving officials far greater oversight into operations in the world's biggest gambling hub.<br> <br>The 55-page document, released in Portuguese and Chinese on the legislature's website, comes as the government is due to formally sign a six-month licence extension for casino operators on June 23, local broadcaster TDM reported.<br> <br>The moves are expected ahead of casino license expirations due this month.<br><br>The extension, to Dec. 31, allows more time for a highly anticipated rebidding process in the Chinese special administrative region, the only place in China where gambling in casinos is legal.<br> <br>Macau's casino bill, which marks the biggest reform in two decades for the former Portuguese colony, will likely be approved by lawmakers this month.<br> <br>The final version is similar to an initial draft first circulated in January but clarifies that casino tax on gross revenues will increase to 40% from 39%, although the chief executive has [https://www.martindale.com/Results.aspx?ft=2&frm=freesearch&lfd=Y&afs=discretion discretion] to reduce it by up to 5% if operators succeed in attracting non-mainland Chinese gamblers.<br> <br>Casino operators must have 5 billion patacas ($618. If you have any thoughts about in which and how to use [https://www.picnicgardenflushing.com/ https://www.picnicgardenflushing.com/], you can get in touch with us at the internet site. 43 million) in cash at all times during the 10 year license period.<br> <br>Macau's casino operators - Wynn Macau, Sands China , MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment and Melco Resorts - all have sufficient liquidity with only SJM Holdings needing to beef up liquidity, according to DS Kim, analyst at JP Morgan in Hong Kong.<br> <br>All operators will also need to pay 47 million patacas ($5.81 million) for the extension.<br> <br>Macau's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<br> <br>In 2019 Macau raked in $36.5 billion from its casinos, more than six times as much as the Las Vegas strip.<br> <br>Since 2020 however Macau's casinos have been hurt by [https://www.Change.org/search?q=coronavirus%20travel coronavirus travel] restrictions, which have curbed visitors, and crackdowns on the opaque junket industry.<br> <br>Beijing, increasingly wary of Macau's acute reliance on gambling, has not yet indicated how the licence rebidding process will be conducted.<br><br>($1 = 8.0850 patacas) (Reporting by Farah Master Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Peter Graff)<br><br>adverts.addToArray({"pos":"inread_player"})Advertisement