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Macau Gambling Age 2019
Macau Gambling Guide
Macau Gambling Revenue

The average monthly salary for professionals in Macau is around MOP 17,000 ' this may be lower than in other big cities in Asia, but Macau's friendly society allows for a comfortable lifestyle for expats residing here. Macau's official work week is 48 hours with the majority of employees working six days a week. The legal gambling age 21 for everyone who wants to gamble Macau. Your passport or a Hong Kong identity card are the only forms of ID that security will accept. Cameras, laptops, and luggage aren't generally allowed into casinos and need to be checked at the cloakroom. The dress code can vary, with local establishments somewhat more conservative.

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.

The gambling laws of Macau are rather complex but only for those in the gambling business. In short, as a player – all you really need to know is locals must be age 21 to gamble in casinos, age 18 for other forms of gambling, and cheating is a serious crime. Under article 13 of the Macau Gaming Law, the maximum term of a gaming concession is 20 years, which must be clearly set under the concession contract. However, in case a concession is granted for a shorter period of time, one or two additional extensions are legally permitted, up to the said limit of 20 years. Lisboa Casinos. The original Hotel Lisboa and Casino was one of the oldest casinos in Macau with a history dating back to 1970. Owned by Stanley Ho, the Macau tycoon, the casino has gone though a few facelifts and expansions over time. The newer Grand Lisboa was introduced to the group not long ago and is located next door.

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 Gambling Age 2019

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 the government ended the four-decade gambling monopoly of the Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho in 2001.

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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]

3Gambling forms
4Gaming law

History[edit]

Casinos in Macau

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. The industry saw a major breakthrough in 1962 when the government granted the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM), a syndicate jointly formed by Hong Kong and Macau businessmen, the monopoly rights to all forms of gambling. 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 3 (later 6) casino operating concessions (and subconcessions) were granted 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]

Gold Bars at the Emperor Casino in Macau

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 38 casinos (as of 2016), of which the biggest is The Venetian Macao. Twenty-three casinos are located on the Macau Peninsula and ten on Taipa Island. 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 li

Macau Gambling Age For Foreigners