Lawmakers are mostly satisfied with the first version of the bill presented by the government to update laws regulating the granting of credit to gamblers to play in local casinos.
The first meeting of the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL), led by Chan Chak Mo, concluded it was unnecessary to draft questions to the government on this matter, Chan told the media after the meeting.
Lawmakers are concerned with only a few aspects of the bill, which are more related to ensuring it has enough elements to be effective in tackling all the potential issues.
Chan also recalled that the bill is mostly to update the granting of casino credit rules, adjusting it to the new gaming laws approved last year and that are now in force.
The committee chairman also noted the object and purpose are very clear and restrict the granting of credit for gambling, credit that must be mandatorily granted in gaming chips.
Some aspects of these rules have already been addressed and are part of other gaming laws. An example is the one that regulates the operation of casinos where it is already stated that gaming promoters can grant credit to gamblers, as long as they have a contract with the concessionaire that allows them to either to grant the credits on their own, or in the representation of the concessionaire.
Chan noted that one of the questions raised in the debate of this bill was as to whether there was any limitation on the type of gaming chips to be given to the players as credit. This matter was already under discussion previously, with the government saying at the time that the credit could be issued in either non-negotiable or negotiable chips.
This bill also defines – in Article 30 – which types of credit granting can or cannot constitute usury with some lawmakers expressing opinions that the government might also have to update Law number 8/96/M, which regulates the liceity of gaming activities.
The AL committee chairman said most of the matters to be resolved are “technical” and will be solved by the juridical advisories from the AL and the government. After this, the committee will invite the government representatives to a meeting with the lawmakers to respond to any questions and doubts they may have.
In the first draft of the bill, one of the matters that concerned several lawmakers was related to the protection of the rights of the credit grantors in case the gamblers failed to repay their debt. Chan said, however, that the matter has already been debated enough and that there are judicial procedures that can be taken in such cases that are not limited to Macau jurisdiction, considering that there are enough guarantees for the casinos and promoters in pursuing the repayment of the credits granted, even beyond Macau’s borders.
