Macao Horseracing Inc.'s exclusive public permission to run horse races in Macau will end from April 1 this year, Macao's administrative and judicial minister Andre Cheng Wong Chon (pictured) said at a press briefing on Monday (second left).
According to the official, the company submitted a request to the Macau government to terminate the contract last year, citing operational difficulties and the lack of equestrian activity in line with the city's social development path.
Cheng said that Macao's horse racing has been experiencing "a decline in popularity" in recent years. With this in mind, he added, the government decided to accept the application from the Macao horse racing company.
When the contract is terminated, the land and related facilities will be returned to the government free of charge, Cheng said. The company has already cleared all the overdue taxes, the official added.
Mr. Cheng said that the land will be returned to the government's land reserves. He added that the authorities will conduct research to determine what use the land will be given, but emphasized that it will not be used for casino games.
The minister also said there will be no new open bidding to make further concessions to run horse racing in Macau, and it will take a year for the Macao horse racing company to move its horses to destinations outside of Macau.
At a press conference Monday afternoon, representatives of the Macao horse racing company said it has suffered accumulated losses of "over 2.5 billion MOPs" so far. Company representatives Rui Cunha and Connie Kong did not take questions from reporters.
Both representatives said the company made the "difficult decision" to suspend horse racing because it had become "increasingly difficult" to maintain its operations. They added that horse racing had "limited room for development and growth," and that sales had been "maliciously" affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
BY: 토토사이트