New social-distancing rule for standing bet perplexes many

The new social-distancing rule imposed on local casinos for the reinstated standing bet, which forces standing bettors to keep at least 1 meter apart from each other, is likely to encumber dealers and wagerers alike, a local expert said.
“I can see how difficult it would be to enforce that. This rule puts the dealers and floor staff in unenviable positions of deciding when the one meter distance has been breached,” Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management & Consulting told the Times yesterday.
According to a report published by GGRAsia, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has confirmed that standing bets had resumed from the period before Chinese New Year in February this year.
The DICJ sanctioned the relaxation of the rule after seeing the pandemic risk in China had remained low. The requirement for maintaining a one-meter distance between players is a strategy to minimize contagion risk.
Since its enforcement in February last year, the scrapping of the prohibition on standing bets should have stimulated the city’s demand for gambling, as DICJ stated, Asian players are usually more inclined to make bets at an occupied gaming table.
However, Lee said that the new social distancing regulation may be counterproductive when asked about whether the relaxation may help drive the city’s gross gaming revenue (GGR).
“I don’t believe this standing-back betting will improve the GGR as all it does is to encourage the concentration of gambling action on a fewer number of tables,” he explained.
Arguments are circulating in the casino realm that the relegation may “have the opposite effect of increasing the volatility of table revenue as players flock to tables with player winning streaks,” he added.
From a revenue stability perspective, the tactic to distribute players over a greater number of tables is always more conducive to driving gaming revenue, Lee commented.
Cloee Chao, the president of the New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association, told the Times that since its enforcement, the social distancing regulation has confused many mainland bettors.
“The restriction is considered too stringent at the moment. It has intimidated and turned some mainland bettors off,” she said.
Chao also pointed out that the new rules make it hard for local casinos to accommodate the recently increased number of punters.
She added that it has been quite challenging for casino staff to implement the social-distancing rules. The regulation even caused quarrels between staff and patrons on some occasions.
She urges the government to lift the social distancing requirement as soon as possible, given the casino has already implemented strict safety protocols, such as mandatory mask-wearing for all guests, to combat Covid-19.