A public concession for online gambling is not on the cards, according to a legislative committee document cited by GGR Asia.
The casino industry website said the document was issued prior to the passing on Wednesday of a tough new illegal gambling bill, and that it declared there were no “plans to grant a concession for online gaming.”
Provision has previously been made for so-called “interactive games” in Macao, defined as games of chance that use “telephones, faxes, Internet access, data networks, transmission of video signals, or digital data.”
[See more: Macao’s gaming tax revenue already exceeds the full-year total for 2023]
However, the city’s six casino operators are presently forbidden from offering online gambling, GGR Asia says.
The SAR’s new illegal gambling bill also bars persons from organising unauthorised online gambling, with penalties of up to eight years in jail.
Legislators say the measure is needed to “effectively combat” illicit online gambling, which has reportedly been growing in popularity.
