Macau’s proxy betting ban after a week

The city’s gaming regulator director, Paulo Martins Chan, is pleased with the first week of the implementation of the ban to use of phones at gaming tables.

Macau.- The Director of the Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ,) Paulo Martins Chan, declared that the first week after the implementation of banning the use of phones at gaming tables went quite well, with gaming operators and junkets both co-operating with the new measure.

“There were only few violations caught on the first day of the new implementation, whilst the number went up a bit on the second day,” said Chan, adding that inspectors firstly advise gamblers to stop using phones in the adjustment period for the new policy. “After getting advice, gamblers usually stop using their phones.”

On May 9, the use of phones at gaming tables inside the city’s casinos was prohibited by the SAR Government. The new measure suggests the ban of proxy betting as well, since registered clients at local VIP rooms were allowed to use their phones whilst gambling, or place a bet through a junket over the phone, before the implementation.

The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, noted last week that the new policy was implemented due to the difficulty of verifying the identity of the bidder or the source of the funding when a bet was placed via phone.

Chan affirmed the government is not worried that the new policy would have an impact on gaming revenues as it had communicated with gaming operators before the implementation.