The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, said today the Government had not received any application for a casino in Coloane.

Asked by reporters before a committee meeting of the Legislative Assembly, Mr Leong stressed only casino concessionaires could make such a request; the Government would take into consideration the project’s scope of development, location and if it would help transform Macao as a world centre for leisure and tourism.

The Government will heed the people’s views on building casinos in Coloane, which is the only casino-free island in Macao, and will not approve anything that is against the law.

Mr Leong said he did not see any legal restriction on where casinos would be built in Macao, but the principle of the number of gaming table – an annual increase remains of no more than three per cent until 2023 – would not be changed.