Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN SEP 2021 24 COVER STORY community in which they operate, in what might be termed a “social license”, which sits right alongside the privileged gaming license each operator enjoys. This is not a new phenomenon. Even back in the days of the pre-liberalization gaming monopoly in place for the last four decades of the last century, Dr Stanley Ho shrewdly shared his wealth with the people of Macau, sometimes acting as a kind of behind-the-scenes last resort when the government urgently needed funds for some form of community need. For example, he long took on the cost of annually dredging the waterway between the Macau peninsula and Taipa so that marine traffic could safely pass. Thiskindof CSRemphasishasbeenclosely linked to the looming expiration of all six gaming licenses in June 2022, none of which will be automatically renewed. Instead, the government will conduct a full re-tendering process, after which new licenses will be issued to the successful candidates. No details on re-tendering requirements have been released, but it is widely believed that past CSR efforts will form an important part of the assessment. There may also be additional CSR requirements stipulated in new license agreements, although not everyone agrees that this is the correct direction to take. According to Professor Carlos Noronha, Associate Professor at the University of Macau and Vice Chairman of the Executive Council of the Macau Institute for Corporate Social Responsibility in