Only 250 new tables to be approved in 2013 in Macau

“When the first phase of Galaxy Macau was completed, the government allotted a total of 450 gaming tables to the company; 400 tables were approved when it was opened and 50 more gaming tables are to be approved,” he said.

Mr Tam stressed the government would not be approving any new gaming tables to existing casinos from other gaming operators. SJM Holdings Ltd executive director Angela Leong On Kei had said last month that the gaming operator would apply for more tables.

Meanwhile, officials are to focus now on the table allocation for the upcoming projects in Cotai, Mr Tam said. He reaffirmed that the investment in non-gaming facilities would be taken into account by the government.

At least six new casino resorts will be built there in the coming years, one per gaming operator.

In 2011, Mr Tam had announced that the government would restrict the rate of gaming tables growth to no more than 3 % per year starting in 2013. Yesterday, he reiterated that goal, with the overall number of live gaming tables increasing by an estimated 2,000 in the next 10 years.

In 2013, with the announced addition of 250 new gaming tables, the annual increase rate in the number of tables will be 4.6 percent. At the end of last year, Macau had 5,485 tables, official data shows.