If anyone has ever heard of Macau they will know that it was once a gambling haven due to the casinos providing their gamblers with great VIP treatment in order to attract them and keep their business. This is where smoking comes in. In the casino it wasn’t a big no-no however it wasn’t considered to be a luxury. This is until Macau decided to ban smoking inside the gambling venue but allowed some smoking venues.
Rolled out in October, gamblers saw the smoking ban spring into action with both the casino as well as the gamblers feeling like the government was restricting them from their privileges.
Macau has decided to amend its smoking bill and make it more stringent as the city’s executive council has now proposed a bill which looks to impose a ban on smoking inside gaming revenues.
The new bill will not allow casinos to make provision for any smoking lounges or VIP smoking rooms. The bill will be submitted to the territory’s Legislative Assembly and if approved, will most likely be rolled out during the start of 2016.
The government in Macau has declared a ‘war on smoking’ and the new bill has caused a lot of controversy as casinos have complained that their declining revenues due to Beijing’s anti-corruption campaign will be further affected with this blanket smoking ban. Gamblers from Mainland China have continued to stay away from Macau’s casinos due to the new restrictions and have preferred to go to neighbouring countries where they find a lot more liberty.
In a statement, Director of the Health Bureau, Lei Chin Ion said “Predictions tell us that the economy will be hit by these measures. But there are different predictions. We are concerned with public health and without health; there is no economy at all”.
