Macau’s new law on illegal gaming continues to be scrutinized by a Legislative Assembly subcommittee, with some legislators asking during Tuesday’s session whether the action of patrons altering chips that they don’t intend to put back into circulation would be a violation of the law.
This was the second time in as many days the committee has discussed the bill. According to the bill, “the forgery or alteration of chips, or the use of them, is punishable by one to five years’ imprisonment or a fine”.
This provision is regulated as “fraudulent gambling”.
However, Chairman of the Committee, Chan Chak Mo, pointed out that “In this Bill, the word is ‘or’ and not ‘and’. He added that some legislators were concerned about whether the legislation would be violated if a person altered the chips for collection but not use, referring to instances where a person alters a chip they plan to keep as a souvenir.
Chan noted that legislators had already put this concern to the government and were waiting for a response.
The bill also mentions that “any person who, with the intention of obtaining a property benefit for himself or another person, offers a gambling sum to another person” commits an offense. Some Legislative Assembly consultants have raised the question of whether “money exchange gangs” are similar to this legislation.
However, Chan said “money exchange gangs” are already regulated by the financial services law, and legislators did not raise any queries on this issue.
The bill will be discussed again by the second standing committee on Friday morning. Members are expected to discuss the more controversial provisions of the bill, including the ability of law enforcement officers to conduct searches for evidence at night, conduct undercover investigations and extend the detention period of suspects.
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