Macau youths are becoming less interested in gambling, resulting in a decrease in attempts by underage gamblers to enter local casinos.
Portuguese news agency Lusa recently reported that Macau logged 236k instances of individuals under 21 years of age attempting to gain entry to local casinos last year. This represents a 28% decrease from the number of incidents recorded by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) in 2014.
Macau takes a dim view of underage gambling, authorizing fines of MOP 1k to 10k (US $125 – $1,250) for under-21s caught inside a casino, whether they’re there to gamble or work. Casino operators who allow under-21s onto the premises for whatever reason face fines of between MOP 10k and 500k.
In 2012, Macau upped the age of casino entry from 18 to 21 years in a bid to decrease the number of high school seniors who were transitioning straight into the workforce as casino dealers.
Macau youth may still want casino jobs but they’re becoming more disinterested in gambling, and not just in casinos. A late-2015 survey conducted by the Bosco Youth Service Network found that 34.3% of local residents aged 14 to 21 gambled last year, down from 48% in 2014.
The study of 752 youths found that of those who gambled, most spent less than MOP 200 ($25) per month on the activity. The number of respondents showing signs of gambling disorders fell from 3% in 2014 to 1.5% in 2015.
Card games were the most popular form of gambling, with 32.2% of respondents enjoying games like poker last year. This was followed in order of popularity by mahjong (24.2%), online gambling (8.2%) and sports betting (6.1%). Over half of the survey’s 752 respondents said they viewed sports betting as a regular source of entertainment.
