Ad hoc chaos

While advertisements that promote gaming activities are illegal in Macau, most of such ads have been posted on the city’s vehicles and outside buildings without authorisation from the government, deputy director of Macau Economic Services Tai Kin Ip said yesterday.
Of 450 checks conducted on the city’s outdoor advertisements (including those posted on vehicles such as taxis) since the second half of last year, the government has identified 316 cases as illegal advertising as they have promoted gaming as the main content, Mr. Tai said at a session yesterday explaining the guidelines on what defines an illegal advertisement to industry representatives along with delegates from the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau [IACM] and Legal Affairs Bureau.
“Of these 316 cases, 301 of them actually have not applied for any [outdoor advertising] licence [from IACM] or already posted the advertisements while licence approval was pending,” Mr. Tai said.
Mr. Tai was responding to a taxi owner who com­plained in the session that he has faced penalties imposed by the government for a gaming ad posted on the taxi that had actually been approved by IACM. In Macau, advertisers have to gain a licence from IACM to post outdoor ads, although the Macau Economic Services is the organ responsible for assessing whether ad content is legal.
“Both IACM and the Macau Economic Services have the same standard and principles when executing the [advertising] law,” Mr. Tai said during the session. “Of the 316 cases involving illegal advertising, 14 have indeed been licensed by IACM but the government will now exercise the licence cancellation process.” Definition
Talking to reporters after the session, the Macau Economic Services’ deputy head emphasised that the increased complaints received from residents about gaming ads posted outdoors has prompted the government to put forward a guideline explaining what defines an illegal advertisement.
“We’ve noticed that the ads promoting gaming, especially those that promote online casinos, have been posted much more frequently since the second half of last year,” Mr Tai said. “For that, we received many complaints from residents and so we have reinforced our checks on outdoor ads…after conducting these checks, we [concluded] that we had to explain the advertising law to both the advertising sector and the public.”
The existing local law that governs advertising activities, known as Law No.7/89/M, stipulates that ‘gaming activities’ cannot be the main message of the advertising content.
If this rule is violated, an individual can be fined MOP2,000 (US$250) to
MOP12,000; for corporations, the fine can range from MOP5,000 to MOP28,000.
According to the guidelines, advertisements featuring gaming corporations or VIP gaming promoters sponsoring or supporting charity events, sports events or entertainment events (such as concerts) are legal. But the government does not approve ads featuring corporations promoting the gaming business, providing information of gaming techniques or displaying gaming facilities such as gaming chips, gaming tables or casinos.
Listing tourism websites or other legal websites that direct viewers to visit websites involving gaming activities are also considered illegal advertisements, the guidelines state.