MACAU BUSINESS
employees on the floor, and regular monitoring by the government agency to catch underage gamblers, will enhance the enforcement on this bill,” he says. Mr Lam says gaming operators are likely to tighten their screening in order to avoid bad press. But busy periods such as Golden Week, when crowds of visitors from the mainland pour into the casinos, will make screening more difficult, he adds.
…busy periods such as Golden Week, when crowds of visitors from the mainland pour into the casinos, will make screening more difficult
However, Mr Fong says the Gaming Inspection and
Coordination Bureau will set guidelines on screening. “It won’t be a 100 percent check. It’ll be randomly selected or based on suspicion.” Mr Fong says Macau should follow Las Vegas,
where the dealer is responsible for checking a player’s identity. “They have more time to observe the player, and if they have any suspicions, they can
22 JULY-AUGUST 2011
ask to see the ID or call security and have them checked,” he argues. Gaming operators assure they are willing to comply with the legislation once it is enacted. But the bill does not include details of how age checks on patrons are to be conducted. MGM Macau said that more training for security
personnel “will be developed in accordance with the new bill, particularly on the topic of random guest sampling and identification.” Wynn Macau is sanguine. It said that because it is at the high end of the market, the casino “attracts fewer players in the 18 to 21 age group”.
No play, no work There seems little concern that the new legislation
will reduce business. “I think demand is unlikely to be greatly affected by this bill,” says Mr Lam. “On the demand side, most of the current gamblers, hardcore, mass and VIP, should be above this age limit.” Galaxy Entertainment Group vice-chairman Francis
Lui says: “From our customers, those within the 18 to 21 years range are only a few. This measure will not affect our flow of customers a lot.” Wynn Macau said it “supports the government’s
efforts to regulate gaming operators in Macau and does not foresee any significant impact on its
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