Online gambling in Macau: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Macau?

Macau is the world's largest casino market by revenue, with MOP 247.4 billion of gross gaming revenue in 2025, but the right to operate games of fortune is reserved to the government and exercised only through six concessionaires (Galaxy, MGM, Melco, Sands, SJM and Wynn) whose concessions run from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2032 under Law 16/2001 as amended by Law 7/2022. Every game must take place inside an authorized casino; no online or interactive gaming licence exists. The Law to Combat Illegal Gambling Crimes (Law 20/2024), in force from 1 March 2025, punishes the operation, promotion or organization of online games of fortune or online mutual betting with one to eight years' imprisonment, wherever the servers sit, and criminalizes unlicensed gaming credit and currency exchange. Sports betting is a separate monopoly concession held by Macau SLOT, and lotteries run under their own concessions.

Prohibited: Online gambling is illegal for operators and players and is enforced.

Who regulates gambling in Macau?

• Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (Direcção de Inspecção e Coordenação de Jogos) (DICJ) — Supervises concessionaires, gaming promoters and casino operations, publishes monthly gross gaming revenue and enforces gaming law
• Financial Services Bureau (Direcção dos Serviços de Finanças) (DSF) — Collects the special gaming tax, premiums and statutory contributions from concessionaires
• Judiciary Police (Polícia Judiciária) (PJ) — Investigates gaming-related crime, including illegal online gambling, unlicensed money exchange and gaming credit

Macau gambling licence: how it works

Casino gaming may be operated only by a company incorporated in Macau that wins a concession in a public tender; Law 7/2022 caps the number at six, limits terms to ten years, requires minimum share capital of MOP 5 billion and a Macau permanent resident holding at least 15% who serves as managing director, and bans sub-concessions and revenue sharing with third parties. The six current concessions were awarded on 16 December 2022 and run to the end of 2032, and the government has said no new tender is expected in the foreseeable future. Gaming promoters (junkets) hold annual DICJ licences under Law 16/2022, may work for a single concessionaire and may no longer share revenue or extend credit. Online gaming has no licensing route and is a criminal offense.

What an applicant needs

• Online casino, poker and betting: no licensing route exists; operation or promotion is a crime under Law 20/2024
• Casino concession: Macau-incorporated company, MOP 5 billion minimum capital, Macau permanent resident with at least 15% as managing director
• Maximum six concessions of up to ten years, awarded by public tender; sub-concessions prohibited
• Gaming promoters: annual DICJ licence, bond, commission cap and one concessionaire per promoter
• Key employees and holders of 5% or more subject to suitability checks

Gambling taxes in Macau

• Operators: Special gaming tax of 35% of gross gaming revenue, plus contributions of up to 5% of GGR for public foundations and urban and tourism development (which the Chief Executive may reduce to reward foreign-market development), giving an effective rate of up to 40%.
• Players: None; gaming winnings are not taxed in Macau.
• Also: Concessionaires also pay a fixed premium of MOP 30 million a year and a variable premium per gaming table and machine, and a special premium where a table or machine falls short of the minimum annual GGR set by Dispatch 162/2022 (MOP 7 million per table, MOP 300,000 per machine). Commissions paid to gaming promoters carry a 5% tax.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

The Advertisement Act (Decree-Law 7/89/M) prohibits advertising in which gaming is the main message, so concessionaires market hotels, entertainment and dining rather than casino play. A mid-2025 public consultation (4 July to 2 August 2025) proposed a blanket ban on any advertising that evokes or encourages gambling, and any promotion of online gambling is unlawful.

Responsible gaming

Concessionaires must run responsible-gaming programs with self-exclusion and family-initiated exclusion, keep out minors (under 21) and excluded persons, and bar off-duty casino employees from gaming floors. The government funds problem-gambling counseling and the DICJ audits compliance.

Identity and age verification

Casinos verify identity and age at entry and apply AML customer due diligence, with enhanced checks and reporting for large or suspicious transactions under Macau's AML law and DICJ guidelines. Promoters must register patrons and segregate funds.

Payments

Play is cash- and chip-based inside casinos with bank transfers and card cash advances at the cage; only concessionaires may extend gaming credit under Law 7/2024. Unlicensed currency exchange for gambling is a crime under Law 20/2024, and no regulation authorizes cryptocurrency for gaming.

Notable restrictions

• All gaming must take place inside an authorized casino; online and interactive gaming are prohibited
• Operating, promoting or organizing online gambling aimed at Macau is punishable by one to eight years' imprisonment
• Gaming promoters may not share revenue, extend credit or work for more than one concessionaire
• Minimum gambling age is 21 and off-duty casino staff may not enter gaming floors
• Satellite casinos had to transition to concessionaire-controlled premises by the end of 2025

Macau iGaming market: size, players and payments

Gross gaming revenue was MOP 247.4 billion in 2025, up 9.1% and 84.6% of the 2019 record of MOP 292.5 billion (DICJ). The government budgeted MOP 236 billion for 2026 while analysts expected about MOP 260 billion.

Visitor arrivals passed 39.4 million in 2025, above the 2019 record; growth is led by premium-mass and high-end players from mainland China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Casino play is land-based only; mobile is limited to Macau SLOT's authorized football and basketball betting channels.

Six concessionaires (Galaxy Casino, MGM Grand Paradise, Melco Resorts (Macau), Venetian Macau, SJM Resorts and Wynn Resorts (Macau)) operate all casinos; the junket segment shrank sharply after the 2022 reforms.

Timeline: how Macau got here

1. 2001-09Law 16/2001 establishes the modern casino concession framework, ending the previous monopoly
2. 2002Three concessions awarded, later expanded to six operators through sub-concessions
3. 2022-06Law 7/2022 amends the gaming law: six concessions, ten-year terms, MOP 5 billion capital, no sub-concessions
4. 2022-12New concessions awarded to six operators for 2023–2032; Law 16/2022 tightens rules for gaming promoters
5. 2024-04Law 7/2024 reserves gaming credit to concessionaires; Macau Jockey Club horse racing ends
6. 2024-10Law 20/2024, the Law to Combat Illegal Gambling Crimes, is approved
7. 2025-03Law 20/2024 enters into force, criminalizing online gambling operation and promotion and unlicensed exchange
8. 2025-07Public consultation on Advertisement Act amendments proposing a blanket ban on gambling-related advertising
9. 2026-01DICJ reports 2025 gross gaming revenue of MOP 247.4 billion, up 9.1%

Outlook

The first formal review of concessionaires' performance, expected from late 2025 into 2026, tests their non-gaming investment pledges, and the government may adjust contributions and responsible-gaming duties. Advertising rules are expected to tighten once the 2025 consultation becomes law. Enforcement under Law 20/2024 against illegal online gambling, money-exchange rings and unlicensed credit is active, and there is no proposal to license online gaming.

GameBridge and Macau

Not served by GameBridge. Online casino, poker and betting are prohibited in Macau and their operation or promotion is a criminal offense under Law 20/2024, so no GameBridge brand may accept players located there.

Macau is excluded by GameBridge geo-controls by default, with IP, device, payment-country and identity-document checks blocking registration and play. This page exists so compliance teams can confirm quickly that Macau's licensed market is land-based only and that the 2025 law reaches operators and promoters wherever their servers sit. Brands that use the Chinese, Portuguese or English site locales for other markets keep Macau on the exclusion list.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Lei n.º 7/2022 – Alteração à Lei n.º 16/2001 (Regime jurídico da exploração de jogos de fortuna ou azar em casino) — Boletim Oficial da RAEM, accessed 2026-09-11
• Lei n.º 16/2022 – Regime da exploração de jogos de fortuna ou azar em casino — Boletim Oficial da RAEM, accessed 2026-09-11
• Lei n.º 20/2024 – Lei de combate aos crimes de jogo ilícito — Boletim Oficial da RAEM, accessed 2026-09-11
• History of Macao gaming regulation — Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, accessed 2026-09-11
• Monthly gross revenue from games of fortune, 2025 — Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, accessed 2026-09-11
• Macau GGR up 9.1% in 2025 to MOP$247.4 billion following subdued December result — Inside Asian Gaming, accessed 2026-09-11
• Gambling Laws and Regulations Report 2026 – Macau — ICLG, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.