Protecting the village

In the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting the Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ) told Business Daily it will hold a meeting with local gaming operators to discuss measures on how to strengthen security in casinos and follow-up work on those measures.
‘DICJ will continue to evaluate the security measures adopted by the casinos and proceed with the improvement of supervision, whenever it proves necessary,’ the note informed, adding that the meeting is to take place after the Golden Week public holidays.
A similar meeting was held by the local gaming commission in June after a shooting at Resorts World Manila in the Philippines capital.
At the time the attack led Macau police authorities to request local hotels and casinos to increase the number of personnel and equip­ment for security checks, and en­hance communication with judicial police in case of emergencies.
Meanwhile, Business Daily received a statement from the CEO of MGM China, Grant Bowie, saying the group was “committed to providing the highest level of protection to our guests, staff and general public.”
“We keep high awareness of any risk and have comprehensive emergency procedures in place to ensure the security and safety of all our stakeholders,” Mr. Bowie added.
When questioned about the likelihood of a similar incident in Macau, gaming analyst and Managing Partner at gaming consultancy company iGamiX Ben Lee told Business Daily that firearms legislation in the MSAR placed the city in a very different position to Las Vegas.
“Over here the possession of firearms is illegal and the incidence of violent crimes involving firearms almost non-existent since the handover. We have long had metal detectors in most casinos […] I believe that we in Macau have been quite fortunate and that the risk of such shooting incidents is extremely low,” Mr. Lee told Business Daily.