DSEDT warns of compliance with city-wide consumption scheme

The Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) has reaffirmed that refunds for group purchases on any e-platforms in exchange for the opportunity to enter the draw for e-vouchers in the “2025 Community Consumption Grand Prize” are strictly prohibited.

The remarks were made by two DSEDT officials during a briefing for members of the Central Districts Community Service Consultative Council at their regular meeting on Wednesday, as reported by Chinese-language media.

Any detected violation of the consumer promotion campaign will result in the revocation of eligibility to participate in the draw and redeem e-vouchers, the officials underlined.

The officials did not specify during the meeting whether any cases of identified problems had been found.

However, they acknowledged that if detected, the account would be prohibited from withdrawing or canceling e-vouchers.

They added that the system’s back-office is fully equipped to monitor and capture such anomalies, particularly those involving repeated operations.

According to the bureau, the total value of the ultimate prizes in the ongoing campaign amounts to one million patacas, which is 680,000 patacas lower than last year.

The officials did not disclose the number of e-vouchers issued, redeemed, or the amount of consumption boosted in the first week of the campaign.

However, they emphasized that the relevant system is “fair and consistent” and aims to boost consumption in the community, with the amount of winning e-vouchers varying from large to small.

This time, the campaign includes the issuance of 300 pataca vouchers for each Senior Citizen Macau Pass user. The officials revealed that more than 14,000 senior citizens have so far redeemed the new version of the Senior Citizen Macau Pass for the concession.

At the meeting, a council member suggested lowering the threshold of the lucky draw for event spending to 30 patacas while allowing e-vouchers of 10 patacas and 20 patacas to be used on weekdays for daily spending such as meals and markets.