The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed a government-initiated bill that will raise the penalties for illicit gambling activities, specifically bar the operation of online betting, clearly define parallel betting as an illicit gambling activity, and criminalise illicit currency exchanges occurring on gaming resorts.
The bill will become law on the day after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO).
The bill passed yesterday will be a new criminal law on illicit gambling replacing the current one enacted back in 1996 when Macau was still under temporary Portuguese administration.
The bill’s outline was passed during a plenary session of the legislature in February, after which the bill was reviewed by its 2nd Standing Committee, before it was resubmitted to yesterday’s plenary session, which Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon attended, when it was voted on article-by-article in its second and final reading.
According to gaming industry sources, some of the now defunct junket operators ran untaxed parallel betting (aka side betting) schemes that reduced both the government’s gaming tax receipts and the gross gaming revenues (GGRs) of some of Macau’s gaming concessionaires and sub-concessionaires.
The new law defines parallel betting (aka betting under the table) as illicit gambling.
The new law will specifically bar the operation, promotion and organisation of online gambling activities, regardless of whether the respective IT systems, devices and equipment are installed in Macau or not.
In addition, the new law will also raise the penalties for illicit gambling crimes.
According to the current illicit gambling law, Law 8/96/M, illicit gambling activities carry a prison term of up to three years.
According to the new law, illicit gambling activities will carry a prison term of between one and eight years. Illicit currency exchanges will carry a prison term of up to five years.
