Is Online Gambling Legal In Macau

This has spooked high rollers, who have held off on gambling in Macau as well, even though wagering there is legal, say analysts. That, in turn, will slow the enclave’s recovery, says IGamiX’s Lee.

• Latest Casino and Gambling News, Gaming Law & Legislation, Gaming Industry News, The Players Lounge, Online Gambling News, Macau, Crime In Macau and the past eleven months have reportedly seen local law enforcement officials shut down 97 websites featuring demonstrable links to fraud or illicit gambling activities.
• Latest Casino and Gambling News, Gaming Law & Legislation, Gaming Industry News, The Players Lounge, Online Gambling News, Macau, Crime In Macau and the past eleven months have reportedly seen local law enforcement officials shut down 97 websites featuring demonstrable links to fraud or illicit gambling activities.

Online casino centers are under construction north and south of the Philippine capital to cash in on the booming gaming sector, the nation’s gaming regulator Andrea Domingo said in Manila.

The news comes after it was reported earlier this month that Chinese online tycoons were establishing online casinos companies in the Philippines to appeal to players from the mainland, while escaping the reach of Chinese authorities.

The report noted that the Philippines has been transformed into a large base for online gambling companies – and it is continuing to grow bigger.

“POGO is legal and is here to stay,” Domingo said, referring to Philippine offshore gaming operators. The industry employs about 138,000 mostly Chinese workers in online casinos catering to gamblers from the mainland and is poised to surpass call centers as Manila’s top new office space user this year.

Oriental Group, one of the POGO operators licensed by the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp., is building hubs in Cavite City in the south and Clark City in the north, Domingo said. Those operating in hubs will get a five-year gaming license against the regular 3-year permit given to others, she said.

Oriental is investing 8 billion pesos ($156.5 million) for the 20-hectare POGO City in Cavite that can accommodate 20,000 workers, said General Manager Kevin Wong. The first phase in Clark will be about 10 hectares and can host 5,000 employees.

The government has set up tax and labor rules to lure illegal gaming outfits to register, and will start issuing licenses to POGO workers, Domingo said. Property broker David Leechiu estimates that the online gaming sector employs about 345,000 workers.

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More than 50 POGOs have received permits to operate since President Rodrigo Duterte began awarding licenses in 2016. The influx of Chinese workers triggered Senate hearings last year.

“Given social tensions, we wanted to put everyone in one place,” the 28-year-old Wong said on Oriental’s decision to create gaming hubs.

Meanwhile, the gaming regulator said it will keep its 8-billion-peso target for POGO revenue this year, even as Domingo said it has fallen behind after three operators shut for fear of the tax hunt.

“I hope we don’t overtax them so we don’t lose the good” that comes with the POGO boom, Domingo said. According to her, the Philippines lags behind Cambodia where it’s cheaper to set up shop. MDT/Bloomberg

“Online Gambling Laws for Macau and Cultures”

Our history with gambling dates to the very early days of Portuguese rule. In the sixteenth century gambling was popular with workers emigrant from Mainland China. As there were no laws to prohibit them, gambling stalls were available all over the streets, and some were even ran by major bankers. The games played were exclusively fantan (番攤) and Pai Gow (牌九). By the 1800s Cussec (CLU-CLU) which is a variation of what the west knows as Sic bo (骰寶) and is also known as tai sai (大細) and dai siu (大小) became one of the most popular games played in the streets.

Gambling here was tax free and unregulated until the British gained control of Hong Kong in 1842. The fact this nearby seaport was British ruled meant Macau’s long dominance as the place connecting the Far East and the West was nearly diminished. To rebound, our Portuguese government declared all games of chance legal in 1847. This was a period where much the rest of the world (both Asia and Europe) were passing laws to prohibit the same. This kept Macau highly relevant and stabilized the economy.

Starts of Gambling Monopolies

In 1877 the government moved to tax gambling. They declared fantan a tax free game, but required the highest bidder wishing to control the industry pay tax to the Public Treasury. The first year the winning bid amount was 120,000 patacas. From this period on, taxing gambling operators became the Macau government’s primary income.

The next segment of gambling issued a monopoly was horse racing. While races existed here since 1842, it was only in 1927 that Club Internacional de Recreio e Corridas de Macau, Limitada who had just been granted the monopoly held their first organized race at the newly built racecourse Areia Preta. Shortly later, in 1932 what is now Yat Yuen Canidrome was built to host greyhound racing organized by an alliance of Chinese and Americans who would later create Macao Canine Club.

The introduction of roulette clubs in the 1910s brought tension. While all games of chance were legal in Macau, these clubs were competing against the forms of gambling the government taxed. This is was a topic of on and off dispute. Over a period of two decades some roulette clubs shutdown due to pressure from concession holders and police. In 1934 the matter was settled when all games of chances were placed into a single monopoly. The highest bids were 1.9 million patacas in 1935 and 2.5 million patacas in 1936.

In 1937 the Second Sino-Japanese War (which in part led to World War II) caused a decline in gambling. To secure immediate funds a multiple year casino concession was awarded to Tai Heng Company. They would control gambling in Macau from March 1936 to March 1962. During their era a new casino at Hotel Central became the most popular in Macau.

After Mainland China banned gambling in 1949, business spiked and Tai Heng Company added western games such as baccarat and boule (a variant of roulette). While casino continued, horse racing and greyhound industry was suspended entirely due to World War II.

Macau’s rebound, from tough conditions the war had left the region in, came in February 1961. This is when the governor declared Macau a permanent gaming region. From this point on Macau became a low-tax region that considered gaming and tourism its primary economic activity.

Stanley Ho Era

While it is easy to credit the change to Chinese sovereignty and the breakup of the monopoly system for Macau’s success of the millennium decade, much credit goes to Stanley Ho who age 91 is still a major force in Macau gambling. In 1961 he formed a company with then Hong Kong tycoon Henry Fok, renowned gambler Yip Hon and his brother-in-law Teddy Yip (who was married Stanley Ho’s sister Susie Ho) called Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM). They outbid Tai Heng Company and gained the casino monopoly concession. Due to three concession renewals they controlled the Macau gambling industry from 30 March 1962 to 8 March 2000. They still to this day own the most casinos in Macau.

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Much of STDM 1960s operations have only limited remains. Their first casino opened in 1962 and was where the rundown Hotel Estoril in Macau City now stands. This casino closed in 1975. If you are into casino history here is a must view post; to read it: use Google Translate Portuguese to English.

In 1963 STDM opened the once famous Macau Palace (Floating Casino) which is where the 1974 James Bond film – the Man with a Golden Gun -was filmed. It should not be confused with the current Macau Palace. The old one was towed away in 2007. What is still operational is their built 1963 casino dedicated to Chinese games, Kaem Pek Casino.

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Visible all over Macau is the Stanley Ho efforts of 1970 and beyond. While building began in 1964, it was 1970 that Casino Lisboa first opened. This was the nicest hotel in Macau for three decades. While today there are multi-billion dollar casinos decorating Macau Peninsula and Cotai Strip including the world’s largest casino and a second with a similar name (Grand Lisboa opened 11 February 2007), the old Lisboa is still standing and relevant. Today it might be known as where the hookers hang out, but the taxes this single casino paid during the 1990s decade was one-quarter of all the tax the Macau government collected from any source and accounted for one-sixth of the total GDP.

In 1975 Jai Alai casino was built to replace Casino Estoril. In 1984 STDM opened a fifth casino which today is known as Grand Lapa. Between 1985 and 1996 the casinos still open today of Diamond Casino at the Holiday Inn, Kingsway Casino and the private Legends Club all opened. Also during this period Victoria and Marina casinos opened which were later closed or renamed. There was also a casino in what is now Regency Hotel (Taipa) bringing the 1996 count to nine casinos in Macau all operated by Stanley Ho’s STDM.

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The primary focus of STDM was of course to attract gamblers from the region. They made great contributions to upgrading marine travel. They did however give some focus to attracting players from other Asian countries. Stanley Ho himself invested in airline companies. Also in the 1970s they expanded the games offered by introducing western-style slots machines and in the 1980s added Pachinko – the most popular form of gambling in Japan. By the 1990’s tourists from Thailand, Japan, Korea and India were also aware of Macau as one of the top sin cities of the region.

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