The Government is reviewing the gaming industry to boost its competitiveness in the face of regional competition. This was revealed by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, when he spoke to reporters while attending a public event. Based on figures for the first seven months of this year he said he believed the annual gross gaming revenue would reach 100 billion patacas. Every business has to adjust its business model and operation according to the changes of the environment and he believed that the adjustment made by the gaming operators would benefit the industry and the economy as a whole. Mr Tam said basically the gaming operators are optimistic about the future of the industry. Speaking about the gross gaming revenue and Macao’s economic growth in the first six months, he said he expected that the two figures would grow at a ‘desirable two-digit rate’. In the first eight months last year, the average monthly gross gaming revenue was about 6 billion patacas. After some large-scale gaming projects opened for business in the fourth quarter, the average monthly gross gaming revenue increased to about 9 billion patacas. Therefore, Mr Tam said he expected the increase of gaming revenue in the first six months would reach 50 per cent, though the figure of the second half of the year would not be comparable to that of the first half.
