The Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ) Director, Paulo Martins Chan, said today that it is very difficult for authorities to “completely eradicate” or sanction online gaming operations, as they normally make use of servers outside the city jurisdiction and as they mainly target Mainland China gamblers.
“What we can is to do propaganda to raise awareness and inform that it is illegal […] We continue to do a lot of awareness work, sending phone messages, setting billboards, to fight online gaming. It has a great impact on Macau’s image and in many times involves fraud,” the DICJ Director said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony for the 2019 MGS Entertainment Show.
The local gaming regulator said in July of this year that 300 illegal online gaming websites had been shut down since 2016.
“The DICJ has put in place a large number of resources to prevent and combat illegal online gambling in order to safeguard Macau’s tourism image and protect the interests of visitors and residents, including extensive publicity and promotion on different platforms, and inspection teams on gambling exhibitions and gaming promoters’ operating locations,” Mr. Chan stated in a speech during the opening ceremony.
In May of this year, the DICJ conducted several inspections at the 2019 G2E Asia gaming exhibition as some exhibitors were suspected of promoting illegal online gaming’.
Concerning other security improvements in the city, the DICJ head also referred the obligation by gaming operators of installing metal detectors in gaming areas, and that from mid-July this year it is forbidden to enter the casino while carrying suitcases, with security guards mandated to check-in the personal belongings of patrons to protect the safety and normal operations of the casino.
Since last year, the DICJ and police authorities police have also coordinated with gaming operators several emergency training exercises for the second consecutive year to strengthen information sharing and the coordination of response capabilities in case of security emergencies.
Chan also highlighted the in October of this year the Macao SAR become the first member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) to pass all 40 technical compliance recommendations from the organisation’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
The DICJ Director also underlined efforts to reduce gambling addiction, referring to a University of Macau survey conducted this year and revealed in October that showed that the prevalence of gambling disorders among Macao residents dropped from 2.5 per cent in 2016 to 0.8 per cent this year.
“Since 2017, the local responsible gambling agencies supported by the DICJ have completed responsible gambling seminars in tertiary institutions in five cities in the Mainland. In the current year, the DICJ also sent staff to Hong Kong and two gambling counseling service centres to exchange the responsible gambling policy of Macao and introduce the self-exclusion application service,” Chan noted.
Paulo Chan’s term in front of the gambling watchdog has been renewed last week for another year lasting until December 1, 2020 with details on future crucial developments for the local gaming industry currently being prepared by the department – including the future gaming license renewal process and proposed stricter junket operator regulations – still not clear.
When asked if new legislation on stricter junket regulations will still be introduced to the Legislative Assembly (AL) this year or only next year during the next administration, Chan only indicating the regulations were still under study with details to be revealed at the “appropriate time”.
