131 banned from city-wide consumption scheme for irregularities

The Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) had, as of Saturday, disqualified 131 individuals from participating in the ongoing “2025 Community Consumption Grand Prize” campaign due to irregularities in their trading behavior.

The announcement was made in a statement by the bureau on Sunday. However, the bureau did not elaborate on the specific types of unusual trading behavior exhibited by the 131 users.

The city-wide consumer promotion campaign was launched on March 24 and will last for 10 weeks, ending on June 1.

The DSEDT statement noted that over 20,000 participating businesses, including those in food and beverage, retail, and lifestyle services, responded positively to the campaign. They recognized that it would attract visitors and encourage residents to stay and spend money on Saturdays and Sundays, thereby boosting the confidence of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their operations. Additionally, the bureau stated, more than 120 of the participating businesses are offering additional discounts to boost community spending.

According to the statement, as of the end of last month, more than 23.6 million patacas in e-vouchers had been written off. Regarding the 300-pataca concession for each Senior Citizen Macau Pass holder, more than 84,000 elderly individuals had received their additional concession by 5 p.m. on Saturday, with about 6.15 million patacas spent. Overall, the campaign has mobilized spending of about 115 million patacas across Macau.

The bureau emphasized that a monitoring mechanism has been set up in collaboration with payment institutions and takeaway platforms. If a user is found to have obtained a lucky draw opportunity irregularly on such platforms, they will be prohibited from participating in the draw and redeeming the e-vouchers during the campaign, as outlined in the campaign’s terms and conditions. YL