Gov’t unaware of macaugov.com domain promoting gambling, porn

Screenshot of macaugov.com taken Wednesday

Local authorities have stated that they had not been aware of the operations of a website that uses a top-level domain (TLD) address that resembles a government website which promotes illegal gambling and live-streams pornography.

The website uses the TLD macaugov.com, an address that clearly aims to resemble the official Macau government website (gov.mo).

In a reply to an inquiry from the Times, the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) which handles local internet communications and related topics said, “CTT isn’t aware of the existence and operation of this website,” adding also that since it is a (.com) domain it falls outside the jurisdiction of local authorities.

“The operator of (.com) domain registry is designated by the international organization, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers),” CTT said, noting their inability to take action over the issue.

According to research done by the Times, the website domain was registered for the first time back on November 28, 2021.

The website displays flashy information in simplified Chinese language, using names and logos of well-known local casinos such as The Venetian Macao or Grand Lisboa, providing links only to external websites.

In the past, both the Monetary Authority of Macau and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) have warned the public about the existence of these fraudulent websites that advertise online gaming by using local casinos’ names as bait.

The companies and gaming concessions involved also reaffirmed that they are in no way related to or affiliated with these unlawful gaming activities which are abusing their names and trademarks.

The domain of the macaugov.com website was registered with a domain host company called NameSilo, LLC, a company based in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. This means that it is impossible to identify the owner, since the domain ownership data has been protected through the use of a service called PrivacyGuardian.

This service is used to shield information that is mandatory to be made publicly available, through a service called WHOIS.

In this case, the owner of the domain, by hiring the services of PrivacyGuardian, displays information such as the email, phone, and street address of PrivacyGuardian in the place of the real owner, making it impossible to contact this person directly.

The Times has contacted several governmental agencies including the DICJ, police, and Administration and Justice authorities among others, but at the closing of this edition, had not received a response from any of them on the matter.