Macau Casino Self-Exclusion

Macau's casinos are open 24 hours, and for someone whose gambling has stopped being fun, the city makes it possible to put a hard barrier between yourself and the gaming floors. The scheme is called "self-exclusion" (自我隔離, literally "self-isolation"), and it is run by the DICJ, Macau's gaming regulator. Once an exclusion order is in force, you are barred from entering or staying at the casinos it covers, and breaking that bar is a criminal offense, not just a house rule. This page explains who can apply, how to do it, what it costs, how long it lasts, and how to get it lifted or extended.

Who can apply for exclusion in Macau

Anyone may apply to exclude themselves from Macau's casinos, and the scheme is open to tourists as well as local residents¹. Applicants must be at least 21 years old, which matches the minimum age for entering casinos in Macau in the first place⁵.

There are two routes into the scheme:

• Self-exclusion. You apply on your own behalf to bar yourself from all or some of Macau's casinos⁶.
• Third-party exclusion. A spouse, parent, son or daughter, or brother or sister of the person to be excluded can submit the application¹. In legal terms, the law names the spouse, ascendants, descendants and second-degree collateral blood relatives, which in practice means the sibling category on the form⁷.

The catch with the third-party route is that it is not truly involuntary. The person to be excluded must sign the application form to confirm the exclusion before it can proceed¹. Macau law is explicit on this point: the exclusion is granted either on the person's own request or on their confirmation of a relative's request⁷. So a family member can start the paperwork and push a reluctant relative toward it, but they cannot have someone banned against their will.

Participation in the program is voluntary throughout¹. You choose the scope too: you can ask to be excluded from all of Macau's casinos, or only from some of them, naming the operators that are not covered by the exclusion⁸.

How to apply: in person at DICJ, by kiosk, or through a casino

There are three practical ways to get an application in.

Whichever route you use, the outcome is citywide in effect if you ask for it to be: on the application you may request exclusion from all casinos of games of fortune or chance, or only from certain casinos, naming the operators not covered by the exclusion¹⁰. The exclusion order itself is issued by the Director of DICJ, who has the power to bar a person from all or some of the casinos¹².

Documents you need and the application fee

The application is free of charge². What you need depends on the route:

• Written application at the DICJ office: a completed self-exclusion application form, valid identification documents, and a recent ID photo².
• Third-party application: bring the ID card of the applicant and of the person to be excluded for verification, plus a recent photo of the person to be excluded¹. Both the applicant and the excluded person must sign, and the signatures must match the specimen on the identity document⁸.
• Kiosk application: your Macao ID card or national passport, read by the kiosk².

Be aware of what happens to your data. DICJ reads your identity document to obtain your ID number, name, sex and date of birth, stores this in its administrative system, and sends it to all or some of the casinos in Macau, solely for the purpose of running the exclusion⁹. The third-party form spells this out and asks for your consent to that processing⁸.

Exclusion periods and how the timeline works

The maximum exclusion period is two years³. On the application form you can choose from set options: six months, one year, eighteen months, two years, or another period you specify⁸.

The timeline after you submit works like this:

1. You submit the application, in person, by kiosk or through a casino.
2. DICJ verifies your details, contacting you within two working days for a kiosk application².
3. Within five working days of submission, DICJ notifies you of the start date and the end date of the approved exclusion period³.
4. You sign a notification letter about the enforced exclusion period, in person at the DICJ office².

The exclusion period is continuous: it runs from the start date until it expires, with no pauses or breaks, unless you file a revocation request with DICJ during the period⁹.

Once the order is in force, you are prohibited from entering or staying at the casinos it covers, whether or not you intend to gamble².

Penalties for entering a casino while excluded

This is the part that gives the Macau scheme its teeth. Entering or remaining in a casino covered by your exclusion order during the exclusion period is a crime, not a civil matter or a simple trespass. The law treats it as the crime of disobedience under the Penal Code, punishable with up to one year of imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days, and it applies whether or not you actually gamble⁷. DICJ's own guidance states the same in plain terms: violation of the order constitutes the crime of disobedience⁹.

The practical effect is that once your details are in the system and distributed to the casinos, walking onto a gaming floor is a criminal act for you, even if the casino does not stop you at the door.

Revoking an exclusion and the 30-day delay

You are not locked in for the full period if you change your mind. The excluded person may request revocation of the exclusion at any time during the exclusion period¹. The request must be made by the excluded person themselves, in person at the DICJ office on Avenida da Praia Grande¹.

But there is a deliberate cooling-off delay built into the law: the revocation only takes effect 30 days after the request is made¹. The design is intentional. The waiting period exists so that a momentary urge to gamble does not immediately translate into access to the casino floor; you have a month in which the order still stands and in which you can still be stopped. Until those 30 days pass, you remain excluded and remain subject to the penalties above.

Extending the exclusion after it expires

When the exclusion period ends, it simply lapses; it does not renew itself. If you want to keep the barrier in place, the period may be extended only after a new self-exclusion application is made, or after you confirm a new third-party exclusion application, once the order has expired or been revoked¹. In other words, you go back to the start of the process: a fresh form, fresh verification, and a new order from the DICJ Director⁷.

Many people who use exclusion schemes treat renewal as part of the plan: as one period ends, they file the next application so there is no gap in coverage. Because the maximum single period is two years, anyone wanting a longer break needs to renew at least once.

Counseling and support services

Exclusion is a barrier, not a treatment, and Macau's scheme acknowledges that. The person to be excluded has the right to choose whether or not to receive counseling from problem gambling prevention and treatment agencies¹. On the third-party application form, this appears as an explicit consent box: you can agree to accept counseling from a problem gambling prevention institution and allow DICJ to pass your personal data to it solely for that purpose, or decline⁸.

Beyond the scheme itself, support is available in Macau:

• The Sheng Kung Hui Macau youth services run a 24-hour gambling counseling hotline and an online gambling counseling platform, offering professional and immediate counseling, information on gambling disorder, and guidance on self-exclusion¹³.
• The Social Welfare Bureau's Resilience Centre (志毅軒) is where the exclusion forms are also stocked, and it is the government's problem gambling service point³.
• On the casino side, gaming concessionaires are required by law to set up responsible gambling task forces that provide assistance and counseling to those in need¹⁴.

If you want to talk to someone before deciding whether to apply, the hotline is a sensible first call, and the DICJ exclusion team can answer procedural questions at (853) 8397 3286 or exclusion@dicj.gov.mo¹. For a broader picture of the help available, see gambling help in Macau.

One last practical note: the exclusion covers Macau's casinos only. It does not stop you gambling online, betting with Macau SLOT, or visiting casinos elsewhere, so if your goal is a wider break, those need separate arrangements.