The legal age to enter a casino was raised from 18 to 21 for residents of Macau, effective from November 2012. The legal gambling age for foreigners remains 18 years of age. What Is The Legal Gambling Age At Casinos In Arkansas? In order to participate in legal casino gambling, you must be at least 21 years old or older. This means that both land-based casinos and online casinos will prevent you from having access to any casino games. Although both Macau and Singapore governments currently regulate that only persons 21 years of age and above are eligible to enter the casino premises, the regulation in Macau was 19 years of age and above before October 2012. A casino operator allowing any person under 21 to enter, work or gamble in a casino will be liable to a fine of between MOP10,000 and MOP500,000. The Macau government is currently considering introducing rules barring casino workers from taking part in any gaming-related activity inside casinos during non-work hours. Looking for a legal online casino can seem like a daunting task, because there are so many of them out there. However, most Legal Age To Enter Macau Casino of the casinos on the Internet marketed for US players aren’t legitimate, which means there are only a few good options for real money online gamblers.

• Legal Age To Enter Casino In Macau South Africa
• Legal Age To Enter Casino In Macau Usa
• Legal Age To Enter Casino In Macau United States
• Legal Age To Enter Casino In Macau 2020
• Legal Age To Enter Casino In Macau 2019

“Online Gambling Laws for Macau and Cultures”

While Macau is mostly known for casinos, we do have many forms of legal gambling and most tie to era of the STDM gambling monopoly. As mentioned horse racing existed here in 1842, but was first organized in 1927 and then suspended in 1942 due to World War II. This restarted in 1980 when famous gambler Yip Hon got the license to operate Harness Racing. As you might recall he was a partner in STDM at their start – in 1982 he sold his shares over a public falling out with Stanley Ho.

Long story short, Yip Hon was not successful because Harness Racing never really caught on. In 1988 the turnover was so small he had to stop. His business was bought the same year by Taiwan Investment and Development Co., Ltd. They changed the grounds to a flat course and began races in September 1989. They also struggled and the year following STDM bought out the track and their concession. They resumed races in January 1991 and have run them ever since. Today this is a successful business that had 2012 profits of MOP 365 million. Online betting and information is available at the MJC (English version) website.

Greyhounds
Greyhound racing is also popular in Macau and had 2012 profit of MOP 205 million. This restarted when in 1962 an Indonesian businessman was given a land concession to rebuild Macau’s Yat Yuen Canidrome (逸園賽狗場) which had previously run races from 1932 to 1942. Races resumed 28 September 1963 originally ran by Yi Park. 8 years later this was taken over by a Stanley Ho backed group. Today there are 16 races per night beginning at 5PM and the cost to enter is MOP10 which can be used as betting credit. It is also possible to bet dog races at off-course betting centres located in the Hotel Lisboa, Jai-Alai Palace and Kam Pek Casino. Vast information about the races, dogs and how to bet online can be found in Chinese at macauyydog.com.

Other gambling business of the Ho family is Macau lottery. In 1984, STDM was given the concession for Instant Lottery and started the subsidiary Macau SLOT. Due to technical issues and lack of demand this was abandoned a few years later. In 1987, STDM convinced the government sports betting was a form of lottery. Macau SLOT then launched football betting just prior to the start of the 1988 World Cup. On 29 December 2000 they became the first legitimate company in Asia to offer NBA betting. Their online betting site macau-slot.com opened in 2002. Today, there are 12 Macau SLOT betting shops as well as online betting and telebet and 2012 net win was MOP 418 million.

Another of STDM’s subsidiaries Wing Hing gained concession for the monopoly on Bái gē piào (白鴿票) often written by westerners as Pa Ka Pio or Pacapio in 1990. This is the Chinese version of Keno and has draws every 15 minutes. The Wizard of Macau covers how to play Pacapio and even lists the odds and theoretic holds. Since 2010, Wing Hing has renewed this concession one year at a time. The most recent contract runs to 30 March 2014. The revenue is not as large as the other forms of gambling in Macau but in 2012 still exceeded MOP 6 million in profit.

Junket Providers, Tirad and Crime

If studying Macau Gambling Law it is important to understand two-thirds of gambling revenue here comes from junket operators bringing VIP clients. Their need arises from tight restrictions of moving money out of various countries. For example, Chinese are restricted from moving more than 20,000 yuan ($3180 USD) per day out of China without very difficult to obtain permission. Under Taiwanese law moving more than the equivalent of US$10,000 (80,000 patacas) requires special declaration.

As many VIP gamblers have no available means to wire large amounts across the border, and the amount of paper currency that can be taken legally out of the country is far smaller, this is where junket operators play a roll. They target the richest gamblers from the region, offer them concierge service, VIP treatment and more importantly credit betting. They collect the losses back in the gambler’s home country.

During the late 1990’s Macau was preparing for transfer from Portugal to China and the resources to stop crime were minimal. During this time gangs known as triads were in a constant battle with each other and police for the junket operation. There were bombings, murders and other sorts of terror. As reported in 1998 by the economist, violence was so widespread Macau’s security chief was reassuring scared tourists not to worry as “hitmen never missed their mark”. However, his own chauffeur was later shot in the head at close range. It was a very violent time in Macau history.

Improvement happened quickly after Macau transferred to Chinese sovereignty on 20 December 1999. Although we retained independence in nearly all matters and function much the same as being our own country, we did get urgent help from Mainland China. They provided military for the purpose of ridding the triad from Macau. While an impossible task to do in full, many arrests were made, violence was greatly reduced, and casino revenue quickly increased 42%.

Today, junket and credit operations are regulated by Administrative Regulation 6/2002 while Law 5/2004 provides the legal frame work for casino credit operations. Though major casinos now have licensed junkets there are still legal issues in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China as to how they operate. As a result organized crime is still involved and arrests do happen. For example: in summer 2012, 150 were arrested with help from Hong Kong Police and more recently Crown Casino had US$100 million cashed frozen by Taiwanese authorities. Still this something most tourists need be concerned with. Macau is the richest casino destination in the world and relies on tourism. As a SAR of China, Macau has the infrastructure and resources to keep criminal activity from becoming a safety threat. The United States has a Macau Safety Report that confirms everything here is relatively safe.

Macau SAR of China Ends Casino Monopoly

The STDM monopoly was still under contract when Macau SAR was established in December 1999. To prepare for the change in August 2001 Law No. 16/2001 stipulated that once STDM’s contract expired gambling would open for bid including to international companies. This was supplemented by Law No. 26/2001.

In 8 October 2011 bids from 8 companies were taken and exactly four month later it was announced the original “STDM” now named “SJM”, Galaxy and Wynn had won the bids. In time sub-concessions and modifications were made. Venetian was allowed to operate under Galaxy. SJM and Wynn allowed MGM to enter the market via a company half-owned by Stanley Ho’s daughter, and Australia’s Crown Limited via partnership in which his son is the chairmen.

Today, there 35 casinos in Macau of which SJM (owned 80% by STDM) owns 20. As for the rest, plenty of information on today’s Macau is widely available searching the web. If you’re thinking of taking a trip here I suggest taking a look at WikiTravel Macau for information. The purpose of this article was not for those topics but was rather to discuss Macau Gambling Law, our unique culture and history. For that, this article took days of research, writing and editing and I hope you feel all is covered well and accurately and have enjoyed the time spent reading this page.

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Gambling in Macau has been legal since the 1850s when the Portuguese government legalised the activity in the autonomous colony. Since then, Macau has become known worldwide as the 'Gambling capital of the world'^[1][2] or 'Monte Carlo of the East'.

Gambling tourism is Macau's biggest source of revenue, making up about 50% of the economy. Visitors are made up largely of Chinese nationals from mainland China and Hong Kong. With the entry of large foreign casinos from Las Vegas and Australia, Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip in gambling revenues in 2007.

Until Western-style casino games were introduced in the 20th century, only Chinese games were played, the most popular being Fan-Tan. Generally, gambling in Macau can be divided into one of four categories: casino games, greyhound racing, sports betting, and lotteries. At the present time, Macau does not license online gambling operations.

Macau, a special administrative region like Hong Kong, is the only place in China where casinos are legal, and the business has grown at an astounding pace since 2001, when the government ended the four-decade gambling monopoly of the Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho.

Macau is the pre-eminent gambling capital of the world, grossing the highest amount of gambling/gaming revenue and greatly dwarfing all the other gambling centers/cities.^[1][2][3]

History[edit]

In an attempt to generate revenues for the government, gambling in Macau was legalized by the Portuguese government in 1849.^[4] In the late 19th century, the government introduced a licensing system for the fantan houses (Chinese gambling houses). It is reported that over 200 gambling houses were required to pay gambling rent to the government.^[5] The second casino monopoly concession was granted to the Tai Heng^[6] Company in 1937.^[7] The company was, however, too conservative to fully exploit the economic potential of gambling.

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The industry saw a major breakthrough in 1962 when the government granted the monopoly rights to all forms of gambling to Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM), a syndicate jointly formed by Hong Kong and Macau businessmen. The STDM introduced western-style games and modernised the marine transport between Macau and Hong Kong, bringing millions of gamblers from Hong Kong every year.^[5] The license was extended in 1986 for another 15 years but expired at the end of 2001.

Macau was transferred to the People's Republic of China in 1999 and became a special administrative region of China. During this transition, there were no changes to gambling policy in Macau.^[8]

In 2002, the Macau government ended the monopoly system and granted 3 (later 6) casino operating concessions (and subconcessions) to: Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM, an 80% owned subsidiary of STDM), Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group, the partnership of MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho Chiu-king, and the partnership of Melco and PBL. On 18 May 2004, the Sands Macau casino opened near the Macau Ferry Terminal. Today, there are 16 casinos operated by the STDM, and they are still crucial in the casino industry in Macau.

Economic aspects[edit]

The so-called 'Monte Carlo of the Orient', Macau's economy relies heavily on gambling. Nowadays, the gambling industry generates over 40% of the GDP of Macau. Since the early 1960s, around 50% of Macau's official revenue has been driven by gambling. The percentage remained steady until the late 1990s. In 1998, 44.5% of total government revenue was produced by the direct tax on gambling. Then there was a 9.1% decrease in 1999, probably due to internet gaming. After the handover of the Macau from Portugal to China, the SAR released gambling licenses to other companies in order to eliminate the monopoly played by the STDM. In 2002, the government signed concession contracts with two Macau gaming companies, Wynn Resort Ltd. and Galaxy Casino. This opened the gambling market for competition and increased government tax revenue significantly. It also attracted more tourists to Macau. At this moment, according to official statistics, gambling taxes form 70% of Macau's government income.^[9]

However, the gambling industry is also a source of instability in the Macau economy, as the nature of gambling business is not susceptible to technological advancement or productivity growth. The gambling business is still dependent on the prosperity of other Asian economies, especially that of China. Due to Xi Jinping's promise on cracking down of corruption across mainland China, casino profits from across Macau have been reporting a decline in monthly profits^[10] In addition, a proliferation of other gambling venues in the region is drawing the target demographic away. Macau's 2018 grew 13% over the prior year, but this lagged behind the 41% growth in emerging casino markets in Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia, according to Fitch Ratings. In 2019 casino earnings reached their lowest level in three years.^[11]

Gambling forms[edit]

Casinos[edit]

Macau has 41 casinos (as of 2019), of which the biggest is The Venetian Macao. Twenty-four casinos are located on the Macau Peninsula and 17 on Taipa Island or the Cotai Strip. They all operate under a government franchise and under a common set of rules.

The main casino operators in Macau are SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands with respective revenues of 9.7, 4.8, and 4.2 billion in 2011.^[12]

A wide range of games are available, including roulette, blackjack, baccarat, boule, Sic bo, Fan Tan, keno and slot machines.

Poker was introduced only in August 2007, in an electronic table format at Galaxy Starworld casino. The first live poker tournament was the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau event in November 2007. Shortly thereafter, in January 2008, the government of Macau published the official rules for Texas hold 'em poker games in Macau. In February 2008, Grand Lisboa Casino added the first live-dealer cash game tables. In May 2008, 'PokerStars Macau' opened at Grand Waldo Casino. In November 2008, Texas Holdem' Poker opened at Wynn Macau. 'PokerStars Macau' moved to a new location at the Grand Lisboa Casino in March 2009. Today, Wynn Macau, StarWorld, and the Venetian offer live-dealer cash game poker tables.^[13] Previously, most casinos were non-smoking. This caused serious discontent from both operators and visitors. In 2019, the Chinese Ministry of Health allowed smoking in special rooms in most casinos. In February 2020, in connection with the spread of coronavirus, after a two-week break in the casino, a restriction was introduced.

Horse racing[edit]

Other than casinos, there is betting at the Macau Jockey Club and the dog-racing Canidrome.

Horse-racing mainly takes place every Tuesday and Saturday or Sunday at the race-course on the Taipa Island of Macau. The race-course has an area of 450,000 square metres and 18,000 seats for gamblers, and is open only for people over 18 years of age.

The Macau Jockey Club was formerly the Macau Trotting Club. In 1991, it was acquired by a consortium led by Stanley Ho. The Macau Jockey Club is one of the largest private employers of Macau with around 1,400 employees and around 1,100 part-timers.

Ways of betting

• On-course betting

There are over 210 betting terminals 'on-course'. All terminals can perform sell and pay functions. Punters may bet in Hong Kong dollars or Macau patacas. Bets are accepted up to the start of each race. Punters may place a bet by oral instructions or by filling a ticket.

• Off-course betting

There are over 80 betting terminals in the Off-Course Betting Centres. 14 Off-course Betting Centres are located in popular districts of Macau and Taipa.

• Internet betting

The Internet betting service commenced on 20 September 2003. Customers can review the Club's internet betting website at www.macauhorsebet.com.

• Telephone services

There are over 600 telephone service terminals and a total of over 38,000 telebet accounts. The winning dividend of account holders may at their instructions be automatically transferred to their bank accounts.

• Fast Access Terminals (FAT)

Launched in June 1997, the personal betting terminal, FAT (Fast Access Terminal) offers betting, calculation of bet units, record tracking of bets, account enquiry, withdrawal instructions and other related information on races such as declaration and race-odds. Close to 1,000 customers are currently using FAT.

• Hong Kong Service Centres

Three service centres are now set up in Hong Kong including Shaukeiwan Service Centre, Sheung Wan Service Centre and Mongkok Service Centre.

Greyhound racing[edit]

Greyhound racing takes place at the Canidrome on Avenida General Castelo Branco. These races are held on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and weekends starting from 7:45 pm and there are 16 games on every racing evenings. Admission is MOP$10 (usable for betting) for the public stand.

Players can bet inside the greyhound racing centre, or in off-course betting centres located in the Hotel Lisboa, Jai-Alai Palace and Kam Pek Casino.

Gambling and society[edit]

The casino industry is viewed by some as harmful to society. A high crime rate was one of the biggest problems that Macau's colonial Portuguese government had to face. Since Macau's return to China's rule in 1999, the public security situation has markedly improved. With the growth of the casino industry, a business called 'bate-ficha' was developed and it is usually run by different triad societies. The bate-ficha business is an element of triad involvement in Macau's gambling industry. Bate-ficha involves selling customers 'dead chips' that cannot be exchanged for cash in the casinos, but only by bate-ficha men or women, who are officially known as 'gaming promoters' or 'middlemen' for a commission.

Triad involvement in Macau casinos makes a serious social impact on the local area. It attracts the attention of Chinese gangsters, whose deadly battles over the fortunes to be made from racketeering and extortion in the territory are a continuing problem. As different triad societies compete for controlled territory in the casinos and on the streets, disputes between societies occur from time to time. These are often settled in violent ways. Even worse, triad societies have grown so powerful in Macau that there was a trend that people tried to seek help from these societies rather than from the police. Although the situation has improved since the 1999 handover to China, the problem is still entrenched in the local area.

Gaming law[edit]

No one under the age of 21 is allowed to gamble.

Detailed law is enforced in Macau to ensure 'qualified operation of gambling' in Macau. The details are listed in Law 16/2001 (regime jurídico da exploração de jogos de fortuna ou azar em casino), and other laws regulating the activity of gaming promoters and credit for gaming.

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The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (known as DICJ) is the main government unit that oversees the operation of different gaming activities.

Under Macau law, it stated that a permit issued by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau is required for the operation of lotteries sales, lucky draw or similar activities, and the initial procedure in the application on the operation of lotteries sales, lucky draw, or similar activities is to submit a notification to the relevant government department ten days prior to the application.

In the Macau legal system, gaming law is not considered as a branch of law in the traditional sense. Instead, it may be considered as a transversal gathering of a range of legal topics more or less directly related to gaming, including constitutional law, administrative law, tax law, company law, contract law, and criminal law. In this manner, issues of public law as well as private law are of relevance for gaming.

Tax law issues[edit]

The taxation of casino sub/concessionaires is made of a fixed part and a variable part. The variable part falls on the gross gaming revenue. The tax rate is currently of 35%, plus two contributions of up to 2% and 3% for social and economic purposes. The maximum tax is therefore 40%. In addition, a fixed premium is also payable, plus a premium per VIP table, other table, and slot machine. Gaming promoters pay taxes on commissions received.

Contract law issues[edit]

From the perspective of contract law, gaming and betting are contracts which may or may not generate civil or natural obligations for the parties. The matter is regulated in the Civil Code 1999 (art. 1171), which states, drawing from Roman law, that gaming and betting generate natural obligations except in sports competitions and where the law provides otherwise. The problem is that gaming legislation currently does not provide to this effect.

Regarding credit for gaming, Macau law states since 2004 that the granting of credit for casino games of fortune generates civil obligations, which are fully enforceable in Macau courts. Credit for casino games of fortune is defined as any case where chips are passed on to a player without immediate cash payment of such chips; this is an intentionally broad concept. Credit for gaming is regulated by Law no. 5/2004, of 14 June.

Criminal law issues[edit]

From the perspective of criminal law, there are specific criminal offences related to gaming; see Law 8/96/M, of 22 July, and Law 9/96/M, of 22 July. Other criminal law matters are covered by broader laws: the Penal Code and the law on Organized crime. Game cheating is mentioned in art. 6 of Law 8/96/M, of 22 July. In addition, general laws on the prevention and repression of money laundering and the financing of terrorism through casinos apply.

Problem gambling[edit]

As of November 2011, exclusion of players from gambling establishments is voluntary. If the person realises that their gambling activities begin to cause trouble, they can turn to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau to ban them from entering the casino. The government of Macau is seeking the opinions of the citizens on the possibility of establishing a programme that will allow excluding problem gamblers from all casinos without their consent. The Legislative Assembly is currently^[when?] analyzing the new draft law, which also deals with the problem of exclusion from gambling houses. The law suggests that the person can be excluded from the casino if they submit their own request or approve the request submitted by their relatives.^[15]

Other matters[edit]

Competition law matters, and advertising law, as well as the impact of WTO law on gaming, may also be pointed out as part of gaming law. Regarding online gaming, the Macau SAR does not currently grant concessions for online casinos. The current casino concessions only cover land-based gaming, not online gaming.

Academic research and teaching[edit]

The teaching of Macau gaming law started in 2005 the Faculty of Business Administration of the University of Macau, in the undergraduate program of gaming management.Since 2007 it is also included in the master program of international business law offered by the Faculty of Law of the University of Macau [1], in which various theses have already been defended in topics of gaming law.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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1. ^ ^abBranigan, Tania (11 May 2011). 'Macau – gaming capital of the world'. The Guardian.
2. ^ ^ab'Macau: The world's gambling capital'. BBC News.
3. ^Riley, Charles (6 January 2014). 'Macau's gambling industry is now 7 times bigger than Vegas'. CNNMoney.
4. ^Godinho, Jorge (2012) 'A history of games of chance in Macau, Part 1 : Introduction', in Gaming Law Review and Economics, Vol. 16, no. 10, p. 552-556, and (2013) 'Part 2 : The foundation of the Macau gaming industry », Gaming Law Review and Economics, Vol. 17, no. 2, p. 107-116.
5. ^ ^abChan, S. S. (2000). The Macau Economy. Macau: Publications Centre, University of Macau. ISBN99937-26-03-6.
6. ^'Macau Gaming Summary'. UNLV Center for Gaming Research. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
7. ^Macau Yearbook 2007. Government Information Bureau of the Macau SAR. 2007. ISBN978-99937-56-09-5.
8. ^'All you need to know, Macau Hotel'. Gambling Info. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
9. ^Bloomberg, Macau Casinos Top Las Vegas as Adelson, Wynn, Battle Stanley Ho, 1 March 2007
10. ^'Macau Gambling decline'. Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
11. ^Ese Erheriene (7 May 2019). 'Casino Boom in Asia Pressures Vegas Operators: Regions new venues aim to draw gamblers beyond Macau, U.S. giants' longtime hub'. The Wall Street Journal. p. B5.
12. ^'Main casino operators in Macau'. Travel & Gamble Online Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017.
13. ^'Best Poker Rooms in Macau – Macau Poker Updated Jan 2014'.
14. ^video on www.oceanus.asiaArchived 1 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
15. ^Macau Daily Times: Gov't considers ban on problem gamblers

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Further reading[edit]

• Jorge Godinho, 'Casino Gaming in Macau: Evolution, Regulation and Challenges', in UNLV Gaming Law Journal, vol. 5(1), 2014, pp. 1 ff. [2]
• Jorge Godinho, 'A History of Games of Chance in Macau: Part 1 – Introduction', in Gaming Law Review and Economics, vol. 16(10), October 2012, pp. 552 ff. [3]
• Jorge Godinho, Macau Business Law and Legal System, LexisNexis, Hong Kong, 2007 (ISBN9789628937271) [4]
• Governo de Macau, O Jogo em Macau, 1985.
• Angela Leong, 'The 'bate-ficha' business and triads in Macau casinos', QUEENSLAND U. OF TECH. L. & JUST., 84 (2002)
• Metaxas Theodore and Folinas Sotiris (2016) 'Gambling Tourism and Economic Development: Some lessons from Macao,' MPRA Paper 72397, University Library of Munich, Germany.

External links[edit]

• Media related to Gambling in Macau at Wikimedia Commons

Legal Age To Enter Casino In Macau 2019