Asia

Macau Lawmaker Jose Maria Pereira Coutinho Calls for Legalisation of Online Gambling

Published

5 years ago

September 28, 2020

Niji Narayan

Macau Lawmaker Jose Maria Pereira Coutinho Calls for Legalisation of Online Gambling

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Macau lawmaker Jose Maria Pereira Coutinho has urged the enclave government to legalise online gambling in order to help overcome the economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Macau should introduce interactive gaming. The Macau SAR government should establish official standards and regulations on interactive gaming, and develop interactive gaming software together, in order to increase revenue from gaming tax and to further develop gaming industries,” Coutinho said.

Gross gaming revenue in Macau is down 81.6% January through August, casino win totalling roughly $4.5 billion. The six licensed casino operators in the Chinese Special Administrative Region won approximately $24.8 billion during the same eight months in 2019.

Taxes from casino gambling account for nearly 90% of Macau’s government revenue. With the money plummeting due to the coronavirus, and the enclave largely isolating itself from the rest of the world, including the mainland, Coutinho believes taking casinos online is a viable remedy.

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Niji Narayan

Niji Narayan has been in the writing industry for well over a decade or so. He prides himself as one of the few survivors left in the world who have actually mastered the impossible art of copy editing. Niji graduated in Physics and obtained his Master’s degree in Communication and Journalism. He has always interested in sports writing and travel writing. He has written for numerous websites and his in-depth analytical articles top sports magazines like Cricket Today and Sports Today. He reports gaming industry headlines from all around the globe.