Lio Chi Chong, deputy director of Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), has been named acting head of the city’s casino regulator, according to an official dispatch published on Wednesday.
Lio steps into the interim role following the departure of former director Adriano Ho in December. The appointment was authorized by Macau’s newly installed Secretary for Economy and Finance, Tai Kin Yip, who delegated Lio powers to sign contracts and issue official documents on behalf of the DICJ.
Lio brings a multidisciplinary background to the position, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and law. He joined the DICJ in 2020 as a senior technician specializing in gaming technologies and casino operations, before being promoted to deputy director in 2021.
His previous roles include nearly a decade as an investigator with Macau’s Judiciary Police and later as a supervisor at the Office for Personal Data Protection.
Lio’s appointment leaves one of two deputy director roles at the DICJ vacant. The remaining deputy, Chui Hou Ian, was appointed in February 2023. Chui, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas graduate in gaming and hotel management, worked in the private sector before joining Macau’s government in 2020.
Chui has family ties to the local business community; his father, Chui Yuk Lam, chairs the Industrial Association of Macau.
Adriano Ho, who led the DICJ from June 2020, was reassigned in December as the head of Macau Customs under the administration of new Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, who succeeded Ho Iat Seng on Dec. 20.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/01/08/91139-lio-chi-chong-named-as-interim-head-of-macau-39s-casino-regulator
