Macau's Law No. 16/2022, dated 19 December 2022, repealed Administrative Regulation No. 6/2002 and established by law the joint liability of concessionaires for the acts of gaming promoters, collaborators and management companies, according to an article published in the official journal Administracao, volume 37, number 143, in 20241. The article, by retired Portuguese Supreme Administrative Court judge Joao Antonio Valente Torrao, states that Law No. 7/2022 had earlier amended Law No. 16/2001, which was republished by Chief Executive Order No. 121/20221.
The article says the new law "innovatively" set out the joint liability that had been the subject of earlier court rulings: the Court of Second Instance decision in Case No. 475/2018 and the Court of Final Appeal decision in Case No. 45/20191. The author writes that he disagreed with those rulings at the time and examines whether his view holds under the new rules1.
Under the new law, a concessionaire is jointly liable for administrative fines and civil liability arising from the permitted gaming promoter or collaborator business carried on in its casino1. The article states that this joint liability can be excluded if it is proven the concessionaire fulfilled its supervisory duties1.
The article sets out the promoter framework that applied under the repealed regulation. A promoter could only carry on business with a license issued by the government through the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, and after licensing had to register with a concessionaire, with that registration also requiring government permission1. The concessionaire had to send the bureau one original of the contract, copies of all supplementary documents, and copies of other documents involving debts of MOP 1 million or more1.
On pay, promoter commission or any other form of remuneration could not exceed 1.25% of net rolling, regardless of the calculation basis, under Chief Executive Order No. 83/20091. The tax rate on commission or other remuneration paid to promoters was 5%, of a releasing nature, and the Chief Executive could partially exempt it for up to five years, capped at 40% of the rate1. The tax was payable in twelfths, with the concessionaire required to pay it to the Macau Finance Department within the first ten days of the following month1.
The article also notes that the earliest "Diamond" VIP room was set up informally in 1984 inside the Lisboa casino, and that VIP room gaming revenue accounted for about 70% of the SAR's public gaming revenue1.
What it means for players
The change matters most for players who deal with a gaming promoter rather than the casino directly. Under the new law, a concessionaire can be held jointly liable for fines and civil liability tied to a promoter's licensed activity inside its casino, so a player with a claim connected to a promoter's conduct has a route to the concessionaire as well as the promoter1. That route is not automatic: the article states joint liability can be excluded where the concessionaire is proven to have met its supervisory obligations1.
The repealed regulation required promoters to hold a bureau license and to register with a concessionaire before operating, and required the concessionaire to file the promoter contract and related documents with the bureau1. Those requirements are described in the article as the framework that applied before Law No. 16/2022 took effect1.
What happens next
The article does not report any further legislative step, and no date for additional measures has been reported1. The author states he will continue the analysis in point 10 of the article, examining whether his earlier view holds under the new rules1.
For the wider legal position across the region, see Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions, and for the local framework see Can I Gamble in Macau?.
Sources1 sources
- Microsoft Word - 澳門特別行政區政府招標公告, safp.gov.mo
