Macau’s casino operators were just reminded, dramatically, that China is still a Marxist country.
First, the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) became the only major nation to seek the complete eradication of Covid. The PRC has the will and power to do whatever it thinks it will take: quarantining entire cities, closing borders, and getting Macau, a not very independent Special Administrative Region, to order all casinos shuttered.
Then Macau announced that it was not only changing the rules, it was changing the game. You might have a very successful baseball club, but the government just declared you must play cricket.
On June 23, 2022, the Amendment to the Gaming Law, 7/2022, became law. The influence of the PRC was not hidden.
Rather startling for a casino law, the new first policy goal listed is the safeguard of national security and the security of the Macau SAR. Legal gambling has never before been singled out as a threat to national security. But “national security” gives the government unlimited power. So, if Macau’s Chief Executive decides to terminate a casino concession, he is no longer bound by the criminal laws.