Gambling in Macau has been legal since the 1850s and is the current world leader in total annual gambling revenue. Furthermore, gambling makes up over 50% of their economy which mostly comes from mainland China and Hong Kong. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legislation in Macau saw the vulnerability of their economy. Therefore, the Legislation wants Online Gambling in Macau and is urging the SAR government to legalize it.
According to the gambling news, Macau lost billions of dollars because of the pandemic with a 95% drop in revenue. For a country that heavily relies on gambling for their economy this is a huge blow to their livelihood. In addition, Macau does not expect their economy to return to normal for a very long time.
Legislation Making an Appeal for Online Gambling in Macau
According to Betting odds websites, the Macau Legislator made an appeal to the local government to legalize online gambling. This is because legal online gambling would help them make it through the current pandemic. Therefore, lawmaker Jose Maria Pereira sent a letter warning SAR that its economy may not return to its previous high. In his letter, he is appealing to legalize online gambling in Macau in the form of interactive gaming.
Gambling revenues went down around the world and continues to do so. However, many gambling operations are able to manage because they offer online casinos and online sports betting. Unfortunately, Macau casinos were not able to manage the economic repercussion of the pandemic because of the legality of online gambling.
For all practical purposes, online gambling is illegal in Macau. Even though there are some exceptions to online gambling, it mostly concerns sports betting on football and basketball. Since casinos are their main source of income, this does not help the Macau economy in any way.
As of August 2020, the number of visitors in Macau is only 7,000 visitors per day. This is a very small percentage when in August 2020 they would receive 100,000 daily visitors. However, as of September 23, China has made tourists visas once again available for Macau. This will help the economy but analyst do not believe it will go back to pre-pandemic era revenue anytime soon.