Book chronicling 170 years of casinos launched

The book “The Casinos of Macau – History of the World’s Largest Gaming Market” has been launched, shedding light on the history of Macau’s most prominent industry from 1849 to the current day.

The book was written in Portuguese by Jorge Godinho, a scholar working in Macau, who has published much work on the topic. The author discusses Macau’s 170-year-long gaming history and how the city overtook Las Vegas to become the world’s largest market for games of chance.

This is the first time that the history and evolution of legalized casino-style gaming has been addressed in detail from its early days until current times.
The book describes the operation of games of chance in casinos in Macau and reviews the concessions that have been authorized, the tendering processes, regulation and taxation, as well as the manner in which the various concessions have functioned within the economic and political context of each time period.

Divided into three major parts, the book addresses the Fantan era (1849-1961); the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau concession (1962-2002), during which baccarat became the most important game; and the current period of integrated resorts (2002 onwards), characterized by reforms such as the introduction of competition, the regulation of gaming promoters and credit for gaming, and an emphasis on diversification in the context of major growth in tourism. RM