This week, after years of inaction, the Macau government began to comply with Beijing’s direction. The gaming industry contributed over half of the city’s $54 billion pre-pandemic GDP, provides employment for roughly 17% of Macau’s 600,000 residents, and generates 80% of the local government’s tax revenue.īut Beijing has long warned Macau that the region must diversify its economy away from gambling-a vice the Chinese Communist Party has zero tolerance for within mainland China. Tables at Macau’s 41 casinos generated six times the revenue of the 144 casinos in Las Vegas, racking up $36 billion in revenue in 2019. The special administrative region is the only jurisdiction under Chinese sovereignty where casinos are allowed to operate, making Macau the go-to destination for the country’s high-rolling millionaires.
