Last updated: December 13, 2024
Macau has implemented a new law to curb illegal gambling, increasing penalties for unregulated gaming and targeting unauthorized currency exchanges and side bets. The statute also bans online gambling and restricts residents from participating in the Hong Kong Lottery. Macau’s casino resorts are now focusing on mass-market entertainment as authorities tighten controls over high-stakes cash flow from the mainland.
The Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) has implemented a new law that further strengthens its stance against illegal gambling as lawmakers move to curb all unregulated activities in the world’s largest casino center. The Macau Legislative Assembly approved the Law to Combat Crimes of Illegal Gambling last month, and Assembly President Kou Hoi In and Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng signed off on it.
Under the new regulations, individuals in Macau are prohibited from gambling online, with penalties significantly increased for those involved in illegal gambling activities.
Now those arrested for illegal gambling face up to six months imprisonment, and those operating illegal gambling businesses can face up to eight years of imprisonment. It also bans people from giving loans for gambling purposes for a cut of the possible winnings in return, which will face imprisonment for five years or more. Additionally, it covered popular forms outside the country, such as including and excluding Macau natives from participating in the Hong Kong Lottery and its widespread version of Mark Six.
Under-the-counter betting or side betting shall also be prohibited and currency exchanges without authorization prohibited.
Side bets include the high rollers increasing their bets with an outside “house,” usually organized by junket operators, and are estimated to have cost the Macau government more than $1 billion between 2013 and 2021. The new law actually targets these unlicensed money exchanges that people have utilized for years in transferring illicit cash from mainland China into Macau, where the tax rate is lower.
The statute states, “Anyone who, without being legally authorized, exploits the currency exchange business for gambling purposes shall be punished with a prison sentence of up to five years.”
Macau’s Judiciary Police has been tightening its oversight of these activities as well. On Wednesday, it handed to mainland authorities 42 residents from the mainland suspected of running illegal exchange businesses. This strengthened regulatory stance implies the will of Macau’s and China’s administrations to curb the high rollers from taking huge amounts of money from the mainland to the casinos in Macau’s casino resorts. The multibillion-dollar casino resorts fill this gap by focusing more on the mass and premium-mass markets.
They continue to strengthen their investment in non-gaming facilities, ensuring all hotel rooms and resort attractions are busy. Gross gaming revenue for the region is up 31% year over year between 2023 and 2024, however, this is still 23% off from pre-pandemic 2019. The improved regulatory environment in Macau marks a step into a controlled gaming market shift in response to a change in industry standards and governmental oversight.
