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How do Macau operators advertise in mainland China ?
Annie Siara outlines the promotional efforts that Macau concession holders have employed to bring in customers
Gambling advertising in Macau is regulated by Law 7 / 89 / M , which prohibits any type of marketing activity that depicts games of chance or their play as the essential elements of the advertisement .
Integrated resorts use non-gaming activities to market and promote their unique offerings . Current promotions include The Londoner promoting its ‘ London Lifestyle ’ experience , with luxury accommodation and afternoon high tea for HKD908 ; City of Dreams offering food vouchers ; and Wynn offering a prize draw of MOP8,888 .
Examples of recent promotions on various integrated resorts ’ WeChat accounts
gaming operators actively promote gaming offerings in China may face a travel ban ,” Wieners says . “ Do I personally see them doing that to countries such as Japan , Korea or Australia ? That comes down to politics as it ’ s a very serious threat to make .”
But it seems unlikely that Macau ’ s concessionaires would find themselves in the firing line by flouting China ’ s ban on the promotion of gambling . “ They ’ re never going to shoot
themselves in the foot ,” Wieners says . “ In order for Macau operators to succeed , they will need to rely 100 % on the non-gaming amenities promotions ,” he says . “ Look at Crown ’ s promotions in China : on the surface advertising , wrapping buses , it was all non-gaming , but there was a lot of direct gamingrelated promotion going on .
“ There ’ s no suicidal operators out there – they are not going to test the government .”
Ultimately he believes that Macau operators need to manage their public relations strategy on the mainland “ to avoid blowing up ”. But as a destination , Macau “ doesn ’ t have to worry about a thing ”.
CONCESSION RENEWALS
This promotion of the non-gaming amenities will be increasingly important as the concession renewal process moves closer . While the licences issued in 2002 are set to expire next year , little is known about how the Macau government plans to handle this process . There is even scope for the current concessions to be extended to 2025 , to ensure the pandemic is consigned to the past before launching a tender process . What is clear is that operators will be expected to at least show some signs of moving towards a more inclusive form of entertainment that goes beyond gambling . As Wieners has already pointed out , chief executive Ho Iat Seng is determined to see operators diversify .
Tash , however , argues that the accusation that Macau is overly reliant on gaming suggests that it is effectively being penalised by its operators doing such a good job of running casinos .
“ Its non-gaming revenue is around $ 3bn , which is decent , but incomparable to the gaming contribution ,” he says . A split similar to Las Vegas , whereby non-gaming matches or surpasses gaming , is simply
June 2021