Macau’s new legislation against illegal gambling will only target activities that take place in public places.
The latest development follows a discussion between a Legislative Assembly committee and government officials on Monday.
Under the legislation, which will allow searches of residences, only gambling activities that involve money will be considered illegal, with offences punishable by a fine of between MOP1,500 and MOP5,000.
However, those that take place privately, such as home-based mahjong games, do not constitute an offence.
Other examples include non-profit mahjong games held in a clubhouse and chess games in the park.
Chan Chak Mo, who heads the committee, stressed that this is because these leisure activities do not involve money, explaining that “setting up an unfinished Chinese chess game in a public park and charging MOP5 per game could potentially be a violation of the law”.
The bill is expected to be submitted to the Legislative Assembly for a final reading by 15 August, the end of the current legislative session.
Is it possible to criminalise unofficial currency exchange?
Government officials seemed more inclined to use administrative means during Monday’s meeting, the lawmaker said.
In 2023, more than 2,000 people involved in money exchange will be banned from entering casinos.
Criminalising the business is a “complex” and “time-consuming” process involving investigation, evidence gathering and trial, Chan said, quoting government representatives.
“The government believes that the use of administrative measures, such as reporting to mainland authorities to prohibit ‘money exchange gangs’ from leaving the country or banning them from entering Macau, has been effective in combating them,” the lawmaker said.
