The Macau government announced this evening that a total smoking ban will be implemented on all levels of popular market casinos in Macau from Oct. 6. Until then, smoking will continue to be banned on at least half of the casino floors and slot machine spaces.
A partial smoking ban on gaming grounds was implemented in January 2013, but since then, some casinos, mostly under SJM Holdings Ltd.'s license, have failed two air quality tests. The government has threatened to reduce the size of smoking areas in those places.
In a joint letter to the government in December, casino operators proposed creating smoking rooms.
In March, the legislature called for a blanket ban on smoking in casinos and said it was willing to discuss amendments to the Tobacco Control Act.
Under the government's proposal, all operators will be able to build smoking rooms on public market floors without game tables. In theory, they will be similar to smoking rooms at major airports. The government statement did not say whether slot machines will be banned inside smoking rooms, either.
All casino floors must quit smoking until Oct. 6, the end of the month's Golden Week. The government said it will quickly track legislative and approval procedures to allow enough time to build smoking rooms.
In a statement today, the health department is referring to the general area of casinos. It is not clear if the measure will also affect VIP gaming areas. Analysts believe the measure will be limited to public market areas.
"We believe the government will still allow smoking in so-called private gaming zones," Union Gaming Research Macau Inc said in a note today, adding that this will cover almost all existing VIP rooms and a significant portion of the existing premium mass space.
The lab is confident that a full smoking ban in the public would come sooner than expected, but that if VIPs and premiums were insulated from the ban, "it would not have a significant negative impact on total gaming revenue."
BY: 실시간 바카라사이트