Asia round-up: New complex in Mae Sot and Macau; India recommends against gambling

According to a story from the Bangkok Post, the neighborhood of Mae Sot in Thailand is now prepared to play home to an entertainment complex. "The print and electronic media... The internet and social media, including the online advertisement brokers and publishers," The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Indian Government
At the border with Myanmar, the district of Tak is now debating proposals to establish an entertainment complex that would include a casino. This complex would be in direct competition with a complex of a similar nature that just built in Myawaddy on the Myanmar side of the border.

In his capacity as a member of a committee studying the feasibility of opening such a complex, the former Democrat MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat Thepthai Senapong stated that Mae Sot's infrastructure is ideal for the project due to improvements in the district's cargo transport and immigration checkpoints. This statement was made in his capacity as a member of the committee studying the feasibility of opening such a complex.

The district's transportation infrastructure has also been enhanced, and this includes the construction of a newly built four-lane road that connects the district's border with the district of Muang, as well as an update in Mae Sot airport to accommodate foreign tourists.

Nevertheless, Thepthai said that there are still a few lingering difficulties that need to be handled before the project can move forward. The most important of these is the fact that the majority of the property in the district is held by the State. Because of this, there will be very little incentive for investors to put their money into the project because they would not be able to buy the property.

In addition, the majority of the land is rather pricey, which will drive up the overall cost of the project.

There is to be no sharing of shares between concessionaires and the 5% shareholders in Macau.

If an investor already owns more than 5% of a concessionaire, the most recent modification to Macau's long-awaited overhaul of its gaming legislation only permits cross-shareholdings of up to 5% of the company's total shares.

The same principle would apply to concessionaires themselves, who are not permitted to possess direct ownership in the capital of other concessionaires but are allowed to hold indirect ownership of up to five percent.

At a meeting that was presided over by the Head of Macau's Second Standing Committee, Chan Chak Mo, the Legislative Assembly (AL) of Macau got together once more to talk about the most recent revision.

According to Chan, "[Macau] made the move in the belief that it will prevent cooperation among the concessionaires in order to boost their efficacy."

Following a meeting on the 15th of June 2022, it is anticipated that Chan and the AL will complete an opinion letter about an update to the law. The new gaming laws are anticipated to be enacted on the 26th of June 2022.

Chan continued by saying, "After signing the opinion letter, the [AL] will meet together again five working days later to deliberate and vote on this bill."