Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Part of China
Macau is the jurisdiction most often misread on this map. It is the largest land-based casino market in the world, run under the Macau Gaming Law, Law no. 16/2001 as amended by Law no. 7/2022, with a statutory cap of six concessions all held on ten-year contracts running from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2032 and supervised by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. None of that reaches online. There is no online casino licence in Macau and no way to get one, and since 29 October 2024 Law no. 20/2024 has made operating, promoting or organising an online game of chance or mutual betting without authorisation a crime carrying one to eight years. The only lawful online product is the sports lottery, limited to football and basketball, held exclusively by SLOT - Sociedade de Lotarias e Apostas Mutuas de Macau, Ltd. Horse racing ended on 1 April 2024 and greyhound racing ended on 20 July 2018, so neither is a live product. The minimum age to enter, play or work in a casino is 21.
Macau Gaming Law (Law no. 16/2001), as amended by Law no. 7/2022
Lei n.o 16/2001, alterada pela Lei n.o 7/2022
Law on Illegal Gambling Activities (Law no. 20/2024)
Lei de combate aos crimes de jogo ilicito
Law no. 10/2012 (conditions of entering, working and gaming in casinos), as amended by Law no. 17/2018
Lei n.o 10/2012, alterada pela Lei n.o 17/2018
Administrative Regulation no. 26/2001 (public tender and concessionaire suitability)
Administrative Regulation no. 19/2021 (organic framework of the DICJ)
Casino gaming concession (games of fortune in casinos)
Sports lottery concession (football and basketball betting)
Two things to watch. First, enforcement under Law no. 20/2024, which is only in its second year and gives prosecutors a purpose-built online gambling offence for the first time. Second, the sports lottery concession, which is being rolled forward in one-year extensions rather than retendered, and whose eventual treatment is the only realistic vehicle for any widening of lawful online supply in Macau. The casino concessions themselves are settled until the end of 2032.
Every vested share the Melco chairman held outside the listed parent went into an irrevocable trust on 16 September, a filing shows. Control of the Macau operator does not move, but the shares that did are now reported as no longer his.
Premium volumes have dropped since August, HSBC and UBS both put the first 13 days flat year on year, and CLSA has cut 2027 by 4% with catalysts "not imminent". A week ago Citigroup called September up 12%.
The Statistics and Census Service's annual survey shows receipts up 8.8% and gross surplus up 9.3%, but the spend on player rebates and commissions rose 11.6%, the second year running it has outpaced the top line.
Citigroup expects MOP20.5 billion for the month even though the first six days ran 10% below August's daily rate. Last week CLSA put September growth at 0.3% against a 9.5% consensus. Both are reading the same shoulder month, and the gap between them is the widest of the year.
A peer-reviewed survey of 563 employees at six of Macau's integrated resort operators found 33.9% in the severe or extremely severe anxiety band and 16% reporting depression at the same level. The strongest protective factor the researchers identified costs an operator nothing: colleagues who talk to each other.
A Hong Kong default judgment against a Macau high roller cannot be enforced in Singapore because gambling debts offend the country's public policy, the High Court has ruled, even where the gambling was lawful at a licensed casino. The decision unsettles a 2004 precedent and the way Asian casinos extend credit to customers whose assets sit in Singapore.
Gambling duties and casino tax brought the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore S$3.6 billion in the year to March, growing faster than corporate income tax or stamp duty. The report does not separate the casino take from the duties, which limits what can be read into it about Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa.
CBRE puts the industry-wide reinvestment rate at a new high. Part of it is low VIP hold flattering the ratio, but the competition for premium players underneath it is real.
Las Vegas Sands bought 1,623,200 shares on Monday and tipped its Macau subsidiary past 75%. The consequence is not the stake, it is the listing rule Sands China had to switch to as a result.
Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Macao SAR
The DICJ English legislation index lists categories (games of fortune, instant lottery, sports lottery, Chinese lottery) but publishes the texts only in Chinese and Portuguese, and warns that the site is for reference and the official gazette governs. No statutory text was read directly from this page.
Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Macao SAR
Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Macao SAR
ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides)
ICLG describes Law no. 16/2022 as the regime for the operation of casino games of chance and Law no. 20/2024 as the law to combat illegal gambling crimes. MdME dates the illegal gambling law to approval on 28 October 2024 with effect from 29 October 2024. The dates for the online gambling offence recorded here follow MdME. ICLG also gives the Macau Slot concession as expiring 5 June 2026, which trade reporting indexed at review says has since been extended.
MdME Lawyers, Macau
MdME Lawyers, Macau
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries
PwC states the 35 per cent special gaming tax under Law 7/2022 but does not list the 2 per cent and 3 per cent contributions or the premiums, which come from ICLG 2026.
Lexology
Not read directly (Lexology requires registration). The minimum age of 21 to enter, play and work in a casino under Law no. 10/2012, and the two-year self-exclusion and third-party exclusion scheme, were read from the indexed summary of this page. ICLG 2026 corroborates that Law no. 10/2012 as amended by Law no. 17/2018 is in force but does not state an age. Confirm against the official gazette before publishing the figure as settled.
Inside Asian Gaming
Direct fetch returned HTTP 403. The extension of the Macau Slot concession to 5 June 2027, effective 6 June 2026, was read from the indexed summary and is used only for that date. ICLG 2026 still records the concession as running to 5 June 2026.