Gambling in Macau

The gambling scene

Macau's gambling scene is built around the casino resorts, but it is broader than that. The official tourism body describes the offering as white pigeon tickets with local character, horse racing betting, football betting, relaxed slot machine centers and internationally renowned large casinos⁵. The city has been a gaming center for well over a century, and today it generates more casino revenue than anywhere else on earth.

The market is organized around a small number of licensed operators. Three concessionaires, SJM, Wynn Resorts (Macao) SA and Galaxy Casino SA, plus three sub-concessionaires, Venetian Macao SA, MGM Grand Paradise SA and Melco Resorts (Macao) SA, ran the industry for years⁴. Our page on Macau's Six Casino Operators explains who runs what, and The DICJ, Macau's Gaming Regulator covers the government body that supervises them, approves game rules and runs the exclusion register. For the long view, from fan tan houses to the Cotai Strip, see History of Gambling in Macau.

One thing worth knowing as background: the law works on a prohibition principle, so anything not specifically permitted is off-limits, and the operators pay a heavy special gaming tax of 35 percent of gross revenue plus about 5 percent for cultural, tourism and urban development projects⁶. That tax burden was raised to 40 percent in the 2022 concession law⁸.

Casinos and resorts

The casinos are the reason most people come. They are open 24 hours¹, and many have restaurants serving international cuisine, so a visit can be as much about eating and wandering as about betting¹.

The big resorts sit on the Cotai Strip, the reclaimed land between Taipa and Coloane, with more on the Macau peninsula. Here are the main ones:

Beyond these headline names there is a second tier: Satellite Casinos in Macau, smaller venues operating under a bigger licensee's permit. There were 11 of them, and nine were set to close by the end of the year as the system winds down²². The full picture, including the smaller downtown properties, is in Casinos in Macau.

The games

Twenty-four games of fortune are permitted in casinos, from baccarat and blackjack to fan tan, pai gow, sic bo, mahjong variants and roulette²³. In practice, baccarat is the most popular game by a long stretch, followed by slot machines, then blackjack and roulette².

• Baccarat in Macau is played with two sides only, Banker and Player, with optional pair side bets; face cards and totals of ten count as zero and nine is the highest hand²⁴. The full draw rules and shoe procedure are on the page.
• Blackjack in Macau runs on tables with six or more seats, one or more decks and a dealing shoe or metal dealing box²⁵.
• Sic Bo is the local dice favorite; betting big or small at the Parisian gives you a 50/50 shot².
• Slot Machines in Macau are available in slot lounges and most casinos³, and dedicated slot centers offer the newest machines in a comfortable setting, generally with a 24-hour coffee shop¹.
• Mocha Clubs are Melco's slot machine venues, including the club at Altira¹⁴.
• Casino Games in Macau covers the whole permitted list and what each game is like.

Getting in

Casinos reserve the right of admission²⁶, and certain people are barred from gaming areas, including those who are intoxicated or under the influence of drugs and people carrying weapons, explosives or recording devices²⁷. The practical details, including the 21-year age rule and ID checks, are in Casino Entry Rules in Macau. For the high-stakes side of the market, Junkets and VIP Rooms in Macau explains the traditional VIP system, where patrons were historically expected to bring a gaming budget of over MOP 500,000 per visit²⁸.

The lottery

Macau's lottery offering has two faces: a modern numbers game and older local tickets.

The New Macau Mark Six draws six numbers plus a special number from a pool of 1 to 49²⁹. You pick six numbers for a single entry, at least seven for a multiple entry, and there are also banker and random entries²⁹. The prize fund is split by tier: 45 percent of the remaining fund to the first prize, 15 percent to the second, with fixed amounts for the lower tiers, from MOP 9,600 for a fourth prize down to MOP 40 for a seventh²⁹. All bets must be made and settled in Macau patacas, by cash, cash voucher or betting account²⁹. Physical tickets must be filled in with a blue ballpoint pen, marked with a vertical line, and never folded or altered²⁹.

The Macau Lottery covers the wider operation: Macau Lottery Company Limited runs 14 betting centers in Macau, with betting at counters, by telephone or via the internet³⁰. Pacapio is the traditional Chinese ticket game, part of the white pigeon ticket heritage the tourism body highlights⁵.

Sports betting and racing

Football betting is run by Macau Lottery Limited, which selects the leagues and sets the odds and handicaps¹. Bet types include win, draw, double, parlay and over/under¹. Macau SLOT also operates soccer and basketball lotteries with handicap-goal and odds betting on selected matches from major league and cup competitions³.

Basketball betting works on fixed odds: the odds at the time your bet is registered are what you get, winnings equal the stake multiplied by those odds with the stake included, and they are settled in MOP or HKD in the currency you used³¹. You must collect winnings within 30 days of the official result or you lose the right to them³¹.

Horse racing ended: the concession was terminated by mutual agreement with effect from March 31, 2024, and the government indicated no new tender would be opened⁶. The story of the old Macau Jockey Club, its race meetings and its betting outlets, is in Horse Racing in Macau.

Poker

Live poker is legal in licensed casinos, operated under a 2008 order permitting Texas Hold'em as a game of luck³². In 2026, active rooms are limited to the Venetian Macao, MGM Cotai and Wynn Palace³³.

The house game runs on tables with 10 player seats plus the dealer, two hole cards dealt face down to each player, and community cards dealt after a burn³². The house takes 3 to 5 percent of each pot as commission, capped at five times the big blind³². Omaha is also permitted, with four hole cards dealt to each player³⁴. Poker in Macau covers the cash games, and Short Deck Poker the variant.

Tournaments are a real draw. The Macao Poker Open main event in March 2026 cost HK$12,000 to enter, drew more than 1,200 players and paid out over HK$8,000,000³³. The Asia Poker Tour has also stopped in Macau, with 28 events over seven days and a HK$25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em Main Event³⁵.

Local and traditional games

The games that made Macau are still on the floors. Fan tan is still available in some Macau casinos³⁶, and pai gow, mahjong pai gow and several mahjong variants are among the 24 permitted games²³. Fan Tan, Pai Gow and Traditional Chinese Games in Macau explains how each is played and where to find them, and Mahjong in Macau covers the casino versions, including mahjong baccarat, which uses four dice and a dice cup with plastic tiles the house may replace regularly³⁷.

Online

No online casino or online poker is licensed in Macau. Online games of fortune have not been authorized⁷, and offshore gambling involving online casinos and multiplayer online gaming is not permitted⁶. Online poker is currently illegal and unlicensed³³.

What is regulated is remote betting on sports lottery products⁶. Macau does have online gambling regulations, but they are limited to sports lottery products³³. Playing on overseas sites from Macau is not an offense and access is not blocked. The details are in Online Gambling in Macau and Online Poker in Macau.

Money and payments

Macau has its own currency, the pataca (MOP), but in the casinos the currency of choice is the Hong Kong dollar, and some casinos accept only Hong Kong cash². Lottery and sports bets, by contrast, are made and settled in patacas²⁹. Money and Payments at Macau Casinos goes through chips, cages, cards and cash handling in detail.

Players keep everything they win: winnings from gambling activities are not taxable⁴. The heavy taxes sit on the operators, not on you⁷. See Tax on Gambling Winnings in Macau for the full picture.

Who can play

The rules are the same whether you are a citizen, a foreign resident or a visitor, with one age line to know.

• Citizens and residents: anyone aged 21 or over can gamble in Macau's 24-hour casinos. Public administration staff are barred unless authorized or on duty, and off-duty casino employees cannot enter the gaming areas²⁷.
• Visitors: aged 21 or over for casinos, and staff may ask for proof of age at the door³. The 21-year minimum was deliberately kept for tourists as well as locals³⁸.
• Everyone: football and basketball betting stay at 18³⁹.

The practical risk of breaking these rules is simple: you will be turned away at the door, and anyone under 21 caught inside is in breach of the entry law⁴⁰.

Visiting and living there

Getting around is easy. Free shuttle buses arranged by the casinos run from all the border crossings and some tourist hotspots¹, and a number of larger casinos offer a free direct shuttle service to and from border crossings³. The routes, ferries and border tips are in Getting to and Around Macau's Casinos.

For a first visit, Gambling in Macau as a Visitor walks you through the whole day: which resort to start at, what to expect on the floor, and how the etiquette works. If you live in Macau and fancy a trip further afield, Gambling Trips Abroad From Macau covers the options.

Getting help

Macau runs a Responsible Gambling Kiosk service offering responsible gambling information, electronic applications for self-exclusion and problem gambling family counseling, a gambling disorder assessment with a printable behavior report, interactive games and a 24-hour helpline inside the kiosk for immediate contact with prevention and treatment organizations⁴¹. Details are in Gambling Help in Macau.

If you want to bar yourself, Self-Exclusion From Macau Casinos explains the process. You can apply for exclusion from all or some of Macau's casinos, for a maximum of two years⁴². Forms are available from the DICJ, the Social Welfare Bureau's Resilience Centre and the casinos themselves, or downloadable from the DICJ website⁴³. If you apply through a casino, the DICJ will contact you to verify your details, and you must attend their office in person⁴². Entering a casino during your exclusion period constitutes the crime of disobedience⁴². Counseling is optional: you can accept it or decline it⁴².