Regulating Macao's casino gaming: two decades of development and prospects

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review Macao's gaming regulation from 2001, when competition was introduced into the gaming market, to the present and discuss the potential methods to improve the regulatory system in the future. Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts the qualitative approach, investigating and studying the contents, changes and enforcement of the gaming legislations. Findings: The gaming regulation in Macao has made great progress in the past two decades. Before 2001, the gaming market was monopolized, and the gaming regulation was merely a concession system. Law No. 16/2001, together with the other laws and regulations promulgated later, established a regulatory framework containing rules of suitability check, casino entry, competition, internal control, gaming promotion, credit gaming and antimoney laundering. The implementation of the rules has also drawn attention of the international community. Originality/value: This paper reviews the gaming regulation in Macao in all its major aspects for the first time and argues that a framework of gaming regulation has been established in Macao although it needs to be improved.