Macau enacted a new law on illegal gambling in 2024 that created the crime of illegal operation of online gaming, according to a general introduction to gambling law in Macau published by the law firm Lektou1. The offense carries a penalty of one to eight years imprisonment, and negligence is also punishable1.
The same overview sets out how online gaming sits within Macau's wider framework. Interactive gaming is defined in Macau law as games of chance in which a prize in cash or other value is offered or may be won, a player takes part by means of telecommunication such as telephone, fax, internet access, data networks or the transmission of video or digital signals, and the game is also offered or approved as a game of chance or through an electronic or mechanical gaming machine in casinos1. No regulation for interactive gaming was ever enacted and no concession was ever granted for it, the overview states1.
Macau operates a concession system rather than a licensing system, and the government is barred from granting more than six casino gaming concessions1. Gaming machines, including electronic table games, can only be operated by casino concessionaires, and their supply can only be conducted by licensed manufacturers or distributors authorized by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau1.
Other rules in the overview cover who may gamble and where. The minimum age for entering, playing and working in casinos is 21, while the minimum age for pari-mutuel betting and operations offered to the public is 18, Macau's legal age1. Casinos are open 24/7, and only in exceptional cases, at the request of the chief executive or with his or her authorization, can concessionaires suspend a casino's operation or adjust its hours1. A complete ban on smoking inside casinos has been in force since 1 January 20191.
On the non-casino side, only bets on football and basketball are permitted for sports lotteries, and only pacapio and chimpupio lotteries can be offered among Chinese lotteries1. The exclusivity held by the instant lotteries concession, under which the sports lottery is offered, was removed in a 2021 amendment to the concession contract1. Greyhound racing ended when Macau's canidrome, described as Asia's only legal greyhound racing track, ceased operations on 21 July 2018, with the greyhound concession expiring that same year1. The horse racing concession expired in 2024, and the MSAR and Macau Horse Racing Company Limited entered into a mutual agreement to terminate it effective 31 March 20241.
"In 2024, a new law on illegal gambling was enacted creating the crime of illegal operation of online gaming"
What it means for players
The law creates a criminal offense for running online gaming without authorization in Macau, with a prison range of one to eight years, and negligent operation is also punishable1. That applies to the operation of such gaming rather than to play itself, and the overview does not describe penalties for players. Anyone looking at online casinos in Macau should note that no regulation for interactive gaming was ever enacted and no concession was ever granted1, so there is no licensed local online operator described in this account. The general position on whether online gambling is legal in Asia and on offshore gambling sites is set out separately. Land-based rules are unchanged in this account: entry to casinos is at 21, pari-mutuel and public operations at 18, and casinos run around the clock1. Horse racing in Macau ended with the concession termination effective 31 March 20241, and greyhound racing ended in 20181.
What happens next
The overview does not report any commencement date for the illegal gambling law beyond the year 2024, any specific penalty for players, or any enforcement figures. Those details have not been reported1.
