Northwest Africa may become the next favorite gambling hub for Chinese players as a Macau casino developer is building a multi-million-dollar integrated resort in Cape Verde.
Macau Legend Development Ltd. announced several years ago that it planned to expand its operations beyond Macau and it had chosen the archipelago nation off the Northwest Africa coast to implement that plan.
A spokesperson for the casino developer has recently announced that construction work on the $275-million resort is progressing well. The construction of a seawall has been completed and workers are expected to start building a hotel anytime now. Macau Legend is planning to build a massive 1.6-million-square-foot property with a casino floor, a hotel, office facilities, and a museum, among many others in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.
The archipelago nation is home to around 520,000 people and its economy is deeply dependent on foreign investment. Macau Legend has said that once opened, its casino resort will be intended for international visitors and casino players, mainly ones from Europe and China.
Chinese players have turned into casinos’ favorite gambling demographic due to their tendency to spend big on different gaming options, particularly on table games. Being the only place in China where casino gambling is legal, Macau has turned into the world’s largest gambling hub mainly due to high visit rates from Mainland China players.
The special administrative region and its casino industry was hit severely by an anti-corruption campaign by Chinese President Xi Jinping several years ago. Monthly casino revenue dropped at Macau casinos for over two years. The city has finally shown signs of recovery, but analysts believe that it will take a little while before it returns fully to its previous thriving state.
Macau Legend operates two resorts in Macau – The Landmark Macau and Macau Fisherman’s Wharf. The company entered into agreement to build the Cape Verde casino resort in 2015. It was granted a 25-year license for the provision of gaming options on Santiago Island, where the property is currently under development. Here it is also important to note that Macau Legend holds a 15-year exclusivity over casino gambling, under the terms of its agreement with Cape Verde officials.
According to the casino developer and operator’s official website, it will also operate online gaming and sports betting options, once construction of the casino resort is completed and it opens doors for visitors and guests.
Macau Legend explained back in 2015, when the project was first announced, that Cape Verde was chosen over other possible locations due to its common past with Macau. Both the Chinese administrative region and the archipelago nation are former Portuguese colonies. It is believed that Macau Legend’s new resort may take two more years to be finished.
