A survey conducted by the Macau Gaming Industry Frontline Workers (FMG) shows that 77 per cent of the 3,044 casino workers surveyed said that their sector should be barred from gambling in local casinos, activist Ieong Man Teng, who heads the group, said on Thursday.
Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ) Director Paulo Martins Chan said in May that his bureau would start studying by the end of the year whether there should be such a ban.
Representatives from 11 casino staff groups, including Ieong, held a meeting with Chan on the matter at the bureau on Thursday.
According to the Ieong, the 3,044 casino employees who took part in the survey mainly comprised dealers and table game supervisors, while there were also some cage cashiers, gaming surveillance staff and public relations staff.
The group also asked 956 local residents outside the sector about their views on the proposed ban, and around 70 per cent of them indicated their support, Ieong said. The majority of the total 4,000 respondents said all the types of casino employees mentioned, except public relations staff, should be banned from gaming in the city’s casinos.
According to Ieong, the 11 groups’ representatives back the proposed ban. The DICJ director said the bureau would gather the city’s six casino operators’ views on the matter soon, Ieong added.
Some of Macau’s gaming and junket operators are known to ban their dealers from gambling in the casinos and VIP rooms where they work.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
