The first half of 2019 reportedly saw Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau regulator record an increase of almost 25% year-on-year in the number of casino exclusion requests.
According to a Wednesday report, the government authority processed some 291 such applications in the six months to the end of June with the prevalence of self-exclusion requests rising by 26% year-on-year to reach 252.
Present prohibition:
Macau is home to over 35 casinos including the giant MGM Cotai venue from Hong Kong-listed operator MGM China Holdings Limited as well as SJM Holdings Limited’s iconic Casino Grand Lisboa. Legislation passed in 2012 reportedly gives residents of the former Portuguese enclave the ability to bar themselves from visiting some or all of these venues for an initial period of up to two years with any infractions punishable by a fine or maximum one-year prison term.
Third-party concern:
GGRAsia reported that this scheme also permits people to ask for a friend or relative to be banned from visiting a casino with the 39 such requests received by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau over the course of the six-month period having represented a swell of 18% year-on-year.
Quarterly quotient:
In terms of the second quarter of 2019, Macau’s gaming regulator received 142 exclusion requests with the number that had come from friends or relatives hitting 22.? This means that 149 such applications were filed during the initial three months of the year with 17 of these involving third-party applications.
Annual analysis:
In comparative terms, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau’s half-year figures represented almost 60% of the 490 exclusion requests that had been received for the whole of last year.