{"id":777014732,"date":"2024-04-15T09:05:25","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T12:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777014732"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:10:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T14:10:22","slug":"macau-bill-to-impose-fines-for-gambling-in-public-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/macau-bill-to-impose-fines-for-gambling-in-public-places","title":{"rendered":"Macau bill to impose fines for gambling in public places"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Those found gambling in public places could be fined between MOP1,500 and MOP5,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Macau.- Lawmaker\u00a0Chan Chak Mo<\/strong>\u00a0has stated that the draft\u00a0Law on Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes<\/a>\u00a0proposes fines ranging from MOP1,500 (US$186) to MOP5,000 (US$620) for those involved in illegal gambling in public spaces such as parks and squares.\u00a0Chak Mo said lawmakers are seeking clarification on the original intention of the government’s legislation and whether it will broaden enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill, currently under review by the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL), was presented by the director of the Legal Affairs Bureau,\u00a0Leong Weng In<\/strong>, in December. It is intended to replace Macau\u2019s existing Illegal Gambling Law (Law 8\/96\/m). It\u00a0passed its initial reading<\/a>\u00a0at the Legislative Assembly in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the draft bill, those engaging in or facilitating unauthorised online games of chance, regardless of the location of equipment involved may face imprisonment from one to eight years. The bill would also impose a prison term of one to five years for anyone who intends to obtain financial benefits for themselves or others by providing funds or other resources for gambling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone operating mahjong for profits without government approval<\/a>\u00a0could face imprisonment for up to one year or fines between MOP1,500 (US$186) and MOP20,000. Penalties may be reduced for minor offences and for offenders who assist law enforcement by providing evidence or aiding in the apprehension of others. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those found gambling in public places could be fined between MOP1,500 and MOP5,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":21186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Macau's draft Law on Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes proposes significant penalties, including fines up to MOP5,000 for public gambling and imprisonment for unauthorized online gambling or operating mahjong for profit without approval. This legislation, currently under review by the Legislative Assembly, aims to replace the existing Illegal Gambling Law and broaden enforcement capabilities. The bill passed its initial reading in February, signaling a stricter regulatory environment.","focusai_entities":"Chan Chak Mo, Leong Weng In, Legal Affairs Bureau, Legislative Assembly, Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly","focusai_location":"Macau","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.8), investor_analyst (0.9), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact on B2C Grey Market?","query":"How will the expanded enforcement scope and proposed penalties impact the B2C grey market's GGR leakage from licensed operators in Macau?"},{"label":"Governance Frameworks for Enforcement?","query":"What specific governance frameworks and operational protocols will be established to ensure consistent application of these new penalties across various gaming verticals and enforcement agencies?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16338,154],"tags":[23911,23906],"class_list":["post-777014732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-asia-news","category-legislation-news","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-macau-casinos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777014732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777014732"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777014732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777014745,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777014732\/revisions\/777014745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777014732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777014732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777014732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}