GAMBLE MACAU

Gambling Forms : : Gaming strategy

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

Under Macau gambling 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 10 days prior to the application.

Gambling Forms : : Casinos

Macau has twenty-eight casinos, of which the biggest is the The Venetian Macau. They all operate under a government franchise and under a common set of rules.

Many forms of gambling are legal there, such as blackjack casino gambling, baccarat, roulette, boule, Sic bo, Fan-Tan, keno and slot machines. The most popular game by far is baccarat with VIP high-roller baccarat generating more than 70% of total gaming revenue in 2004. Poker was introduced only in August 2007, in an electronic table format at Galaxy Starworld casino.

Gambling has been legal in Macau for a long time beginning in 1851 where there was a licensing system for gambling houses until 1863. Beginning in 1934, casinos' ownership and operation was centralized where through private negotiations, some franchises monopolized the operation right of all casinos. The casino industry has been controlled by the STDM monopoly for 39 years but, this changed in 2001 when casino licenses were offered to other casino operators, including American companies such as Las Vegas Sands (Sheldon Adelson) and Wynn Resorts (Steve Wynn) and then later on May 18, 2004, the Sands Macau casino opened near the Macau Ferry Terminal.

Gambling Forms : : Horse racing

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.

Gambling Forms : : Modes 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.

Gambling Forms : : 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.

Gambling Forms : : 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.

Gambling Forms : : 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.

Gambling Forms : : 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.

Gambling Forms : : Greyhound Racing

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 p.m. and there are 16 games on every racing evenings. Admission is MOP$10 (usable for betting) for the public stand. Boxes are MOP$80 (Monday to Thursday) and MOP$120 (Friday to Sunday and Public Holidays) with a minimum charge of MOP$30 per person. Bar, snack-bars and restaurant facilities are available.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.

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 siuation 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.