Shockwaves

By October or so of last year, news surfaced of an impending revision of China’s criminal laws concerning gambling and, especially, its promotion in mainland China.

The changes being discussed then at the National People’s Congress concerned the marketing of activities described at times as cross-border or, at other times, as overseas. Finally, in March of the current year, the law came into effect, effectively criminalizing those activities.

Then, one of the questions popping up in the media and public arguments concerned the place of Macau in that frame. What did those words imply? Would the law also apply to Macau, or only to foreign places like the Philippines, Cambodia, or Australia? Such a question will seem strangely irrelevant now, regardless of the law’s original purpose.

First, the main targets of the law, the junket operators, often operate both in Macau and abroad. Targeting the latter activities without touching the former world be, in any circumstance, an almost impossible task in practical terms, should it even be considered. Second, the events of the last few days made the question pointless.

Source: https://www.macaubusiness.com/opinion-shockwaves/