MACAU BUSINESS


the day of the Ferreira do Amaral decree is missing, which this author explains as being mainly due to the organisation of the old Portuguese archives. In 2013, Jorge Godinho, Associate Professor at the


Faculty of Law at the University of Macau, published what can be considered the most important study on the subject: A History of Games of Chance in Macau: Part 2 – The Foundation of the Macau Gaming Industry. ‘We submit that Governor João Maria Ferreira do


Amaral should be recognised as the ‘founding father’ of the modern gaming industry for having initiated the formal authorisation of the commercial operation of the two most popular Chinese types of gaming at the time, which survive today: the pacapio lottery and the game of fantan’ in 1847 and 1849, respectively, according to Mr. Godinho. ‘These were pragmatic and decisive measures, well in line with the bold and abrasive character of Governor Ferreira do Amaral, whose term of office is generally recognised as a key turning point in Macau’s history.’


The gaming law expert goes further, pointing to


an even more concrete date: January 1847, with ‘the authorisation granted upon request from Chinese businessmen.’ Godinho also reveals that ‘after a period of experimentation in 1847, the system became annual: the first licence for a full year was granted to Liu Pac on April 5, 1848, subject to specific terms and conditions. The revenue obtained from pacapio was 3,520 patacas in the economic year 1847–48, increasing to 4,175 in 1848–49.’ After all this it is already more difficult to


understand that the error continues to be perpetuated. In Wikipedia (English version) it is still stated that ‘In the attempt to generate revenues for the government, gambling in Macau was legalised around 1850 . . . [and that] . . . in the late 19th Century the government introduced the licensing system for the fantan houses,’ ignoring pacapio, as the Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau website continues to.


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