Gambling in Macau has been legal
since the 1850s when the Portuguese government legalised the activity in
the autonomous colony. Since then, Macau has become known worldwide as
the "Gambling capital of the world" or "Monte Carlo of the Orient".
Gambling tourism is Macau's biggest
source of revenue, making up about 50% of the economy. Visitors are made
up largely of Chinese nationals from mainland China and Hong Kong. With
the entry of large foreign casinos from Las Vegas and Australia, Macau
overtook the Las Vegas Strip in gambling revenues in 2007.
Until Western-style casino games
were introduced in the 20th century, only Chinese games were played, the
most popular being Fan-Tan. Generally, gambling in Macau can be divided
into one of four categories: casino games, greyhound racing, sports betting,
and lotteries. At the present time, Macau does not license online gambling
operations.
Macau, a special administrative
region like Hong Kong, is the only place in China where casinos are legal,
and the business has grown at an astounding pace since the government ended
the four-decade gambling monopoly of the Hong Kong billionaire Stanley
Ho in 2001.
Macau is the pre-eminent gambling
capital of the world, grossing the highest amount of gambling/gaming revenue
and greatly dwarfing all the other gambling centers/cities.
