The SAR Government's bill on the new "gaming industry regime" was passed by the Executive Council today and will be submitted to debates in the Legislative Assembly next week.

The bill suggests a series of innovations in regulating and licensing, in order to ensure fair competitions and effective management in the gaming industry, said Tong Chi Kin, spokesman of the Executive Council after a meeting today (13).

While applying new rules to prohibit any operator from dominating the industry, the bill also puts activities of middlemen under regulation. Qualifications of bidders for licenses and employees of the future operators would also be regulated by the regime, Mr. Tong said.

One of the new ideas enshrined in the bill is to distinguish interactive games operated through telephone, fax, videos and the Internet from conventional casino gaming, and to license them separately.

In order to ensure the public coffers' continued income from the gaming industry, the bill proposes a tax system that would generate revenue not less then the current franchise tax, as well as introduce taxes on commissions and other income of middlemen working for the future casino operators, Mr. Tong said.

As suggested by the bill, operators bidding for the new licenses must first incorporate a stock company in Macau, and they must also have a bank guarantee whose amount will be decided by the Chief Executive, said Mr. Tong.

Licenses would be granted in a process of public and open tenders, yet the qualification and financial status of the bidders would be a key consideration, said Mr. Tong, adding that term of license would be eight to twenty years, and could be extended for five years, up to a maximum of 25 years.

According to Mr. Tong, a maximum of three licenses would be granted after the end of the 40-year monopoly of STDM (Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau/Macau Tourism and Amusement Company) in the gaming industry of Macau.

The Executive Council is a 10-member advisory body to the Chief Executive, namely in the process of law making. Bills passed by the Executive council must be submitted to the Legislative Assembly for plenary debate and possible approval.