eSports could boost casino activity in Macau

A local scholar said that eSports could help non-gaming offering of Macau’s casino resorts.

Local scholar and legislator Davis Fong Ka Chio, said that competitive video games such as eSports could be a great addition to the non-gaming offering in Macau resorts. Fong proposed that eSports could make the local gambling facilities more competitive and attractive to younger generations.

Fong discussed eSports during the Tenth International Conference on the Legal Reforms of Macau in the Global Context – Gaming Law, held at the University of Macau. The director of the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau said that eSports could complement non-gaming offering: “The set up for e-sports is more or less the same as for a big convention centre … whenever there is an international e-sports competition, thousands of players gather [in one venue]. And this [e-sports] event does not last just one or two days – it could last a month.”

Fong believes that the performance of other business segments could be improved by participants in eSports competitions. “In 2017, there have been some casino operators here that have hosted such [e-sports] tournaments. We should continue to test whether this non-gaming item is successful or not, and gather some more experience. After that we can have a more accurate understanding in order for it to be introduced to the [city’s] gaming legal framework.”