Macau targets illegal gambling websites

The Police have asked web hosting companies for help to block 237 websites that didn’t comply with local regulations.

Macau.- The Chinese territory of Macau has turned into one of the biggest gambling hubs in the world. However, in order to maintain a profitable business, the authorities have to continuously be on the watch for unlicensed or unlawful gambling operations in order to take them down as soon as possible and prevent further revenue losses.

That’s why the Macau Police have asked web hosting companies for help tackling illegal websites and have urged them to block 237 of them. According to Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, 130 of the websites have already been blocked or removed for pirating major operators’ brands, hence damaging the local international tourism and gaming image.

Some of the affected firms were Grand Lisboa and Venetian, whose names had been used to exploit the iGaming segment without the government’s authorisation. Secretary Wong explained the Judiciary Police had investigated and analysed the websites and urged web companies to block them.

Furthermore, according to the government’s official, the authorities are preparing new legislation (to be ready in 2019) to prevent illegal operators from sending text messages through illegal telecoms equipment, a common method of mass marketing used by illegal operators.